Milan Tesař becomes chief dramaturge of Brno Music Marathon

23 November 2023, 10:00
Milan Tesař becomes chief dramaturge of Brno Music Marathon

The new form of the Brno Music Marathon festival is connected with the arrival of the chief dramaturge, Milan Tesar, music publicist, head of the music editorial office of Radio Proglas and since 2000 head of the international panel of radio music publicists of World Music Charts Europe (WMCE). In the past years he has participated in the Brno Music Marathon as a dramaturge of the World Music Scene.

Milan Tesař , chief dramaturge, presents the new concept of the festival and announces the name of the artist in residence, who is the top accordionist Vincent Peirani from France. The Estonian duo Puuluup will visit Brno again and visitors can also look forward to new faces of music from the Balkans, Central Asia and the Caucasus. The Brno Music Marathon will enliven the South Moravian metropolis from 8-11 August 2024.

The festival will put a big emphasis on compact dramaturgy. "The aim is to connect the individual stages, but at the same time not to forget the dramaturgical development of the festival. Visitors can look forward to concerts by internationally renowned artists, as well as the latest discoveries, premières and music in new contexts. We will do our best to make the festival an inspiring meeting place for artists, fans and music professionals not only from Brno and the rest of the Czech Republic, but also from abroad," said Milan Tesař.

The new chief dramaturge continues: "When I look at the diverse lineup of the festival, the word roots comes to mind. That word may be overused lately, but I see it in two senses. First of all, I mean that all music comes from tradition and has a long history, whether it is classical, folk, world music, jazz and also songwriting. At the same time, all these genres are firmly rooted in the city of Brno and can, among other things, in the form of various fusions and variations, grow and blossom there. After all, Brno has been part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a city of music since 2017 and has much to be proud of in the field of music. Moreover, the Brno Music Marathon festival places music of various genres in the visually interesting context of Brno's architecture."

The 2024 Artist in Residence of the festival is French accordionist Vincent Peirani. This world-renowned musician is equally at home in jazz, world music, rock and experimental music and is a role model for many other artists. Vincent Peirani will present three different projects in Brno. On Thursday, August 8, he will perform in the unique setting of the Sono Centre with the trio Jokers, whose concert program follows the album of the same name, recorded in 2021 with guitarist Federico Casagrande and drummer Ziv Ravitz. As part of the World Music Scene, Peirani will present the project Les Egarés, in which he combines his improvisational skills with the Malian musician Ballaké Sissok and his compatriots, cellist Vincent Ségal and saxophonist Emile Parisien. Thirdly, the accordionist will present his solo recital in Brno.

A new feature of the Brno Music Marathon will be the stage of the unique Moldovan music label Antonovka Records, whose founder Anton Apostol makes authentic recordings of folk ensembles from Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Far East and the Caucasus and publishes them as part of his digital offering. Expansion awaits the popular Balkan stage. In addition to the Balkan Night of dancing in the courtyard of Špilberk Castle, the festival will also include a Balkan Soirée with more intimate Balkan projects. Since this year, the festival team has been assisted in their selection by a person of the highest calibre, namely Bojan Djordjevic, Serbian music journalist, radio editor, manager, WMCE panel member and founder of the Balkan World Music Chart.

The Estonian duo Puuluup, who thrilled visitors to last year’s festival, will also return to Brno. In August 2024, they will be opening the Brno Music Marathon at the Sono Centre together with Vincent Peirani and his trio Jokers. Puuluup, consisting of the innovative players of the old Estonian talharpa instrument, Ramo Teder and Marko Veisson, have gone from strength to strength, most recently performing at the WOMEX world music fair in A Coruña.

The Brno Music Marathon will also feature other traditional programme items such as street busking in Kateřina Šedá's original rooms, a Piano Relay, concerts of old music, a rock stage and the Romany Django Stage. You can also look forward to the popular Street Foot Festival again. Tickets for selected concerts will go on sale before Christmas.

Milan Tesař/ photo archive

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