Brno Contemporary Orchestra: Birthday Concert for Marek Kopelent

5 April 2017, 4:00
Brno Contemporary Orchestra: Birthday Concert for Marek Kopelent

The Brno Contemporary Orchestra is preparing an extraordinary concert for the 85th birthday of Marek Kopelent. A selection from his works will be performed by Irena Troupová, Vilém Veverka, Josef Klíč and the Brno Contemporary Orchestra under Pavel Šnajdr.

The composer, pianist and publicist Marek Kopelent was born 28 April 1932 in Prague. At Prague’s Academy of Musical Arts he studied composition with Jaroslav Řídký. After 1959 he began to discover the compositional principles of the Second Viennese School and the Western European post-war avant-garde of the 1950s, which influenced his modern style. In the period 1965-1973 he led the ensemble Musica viva Pragensis. The communist regime did not accept his work, so his compositions were mostly performed abroad. After 1989 he began to teach at the Academy of Musical Arts. He is considered to be one of the most significant figures on the musical scene in the 20th century.

The birthday concert will take place on 19 April 2017 from 7.30 p.m. in Besední dům.

Programme:

Marek Kopelent: Expulsion, a composition for mezzosoprano, solo oboe and 9 deep strings to texts from the Old Testament and J. A. Comenius

Marek Kopelent: A Few Minutes With An Oboist, concerto for oboe and chamber orchestra

Sofie Gubajdulina: Concordanza; a composition created at the initiative of Marek Kopelent which had its world premiere at the beginning of the 1970s in Prague.

Zbyněk Vostřák: The Pendulum of Time, a vocal symphony for alto, narrator, choir and orchestra

Brno Contemporary Orchestra/ photo archive

The last opera première of the National Theatre Brno this year was Hurvínek Sells the Bride, which was co-produced with the Spejbl and Hurvínek Theatre. The première continued the thematic focus associated with the Year of Czech Music and took place on 24 November in the large hall of the Reduta Theatre.  more

With Thursday's concert entitled Bruckneriana, the Brno Philharmonic under the direction of Principal Conductor Dennis Russell Davies launched the subscription series Philharmonia in the Theatre I. The orchestra performed works by Anton Bruckner and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, a Polish-American conductor and composer who devoted his life's work to Bruckner. Performers wearing crimson sashes with the inscription "Playing forte!” appeared in front of the audience, joining the "Let's not let culture die” initiative, which draws attention to the underfunding of culture and opposes the government's plan to invest just 0.64% of the state budget into culture next year, moving further and further away from its promise to spend at least 1%.  more

The Brno Philharmonic Orchestra has been running the Orchestral Academy of the Brno Philharmonic (OAFB) project for nine seasons, enabling young talented musicians to gain orchestral experience in a professional ensemble. In this manner, the orchestra educates the next generation of musicians, both permanent and external. However, working here also gives young people the opportunity to show their skills in chamber music and in a concert series called Young Blood aka Music Up Close. The first seasonal concert took place on Wednesday 15 November at Besední dom.  more

Baladas da Luta, Fighting Ballads, is the title of the sixth album by Brazilian singer Mariana Da Cruz and her Swiss-Brazilian band Da Cruz. It is a combination of modern music that combines Latin American tradition and contemporary electronic elements with strong lyrics. In them, the author fights for women’s rights, stands up against dictatorships and specifically criticizes the atmosphere that has evolved in Brazil under the now former authoritarian President Bolsonaro. Da Cruz performed at Brasil Fest Brno in August 2023. We revisit this festival with an interview conducted following their concert at Zelný trh. Singer Mariana Da Cruz and keyboard player and producer Ane Hebeisn, performing as Ane H, responded to our questions.  more

The programme for Janáček Brno 2024, an international opera and music festival now in its 9th year, was unveiled at a concert held to mark this occasion entitled Janáček to the start! On Saturday, 4 November, the Mahen Theatre was filled not only with devoted fans of the festival, but also with foreign journalists, politicians and prominent figures from the world of culture. In addition to a collection of wonderful musical performances, the audience was also treated to a lineup of renowned artists – Kateřina Kněžíková (soprano), Václava Krejčí Housková (mezzo-soprano), Josef Špaček (violin) and, last but not least, Robert Kružík, who took on the role of both conductor leading the Orchestra of the Janáček Opera at the National Theatre Brno during the evening and also performing as a cellist.  more