Jazz

Pavel Haas Quartet resident ensemble of the 31st year of the festival Veronika Jarůšková, Marek Zwiebel / violin Šimon Truszka / viola Peter Jarůšek / cello

Vision String Quartet (DE) Florian Willeitner, Daniel Stoll / violin Sander Stuart / viola Leonard Disselhorst / cello

Graindelavoix (BE) Andrew Hallock / alto Albert Riera / tenor Marius Peterson / tenor Arnout Malfliet / bass Björn Schmelzer / artistic director

Vision String Quartet (DE) Florian Willeitner, Daniel Stoll / violin Sander Stuart / viola Leonard Disselhorst / cello

Cello Republic Petr Špaček / Matej Štěpánek / Jan Zemen / Ivan Vokáč

Love knows no bounds, my guilt will fall into oblivion, but my love will not die... No human weakness is foreign to the beautiful Manon - she would like the love of the young knight Des Grieux and a life of luxury and wealth, which only the old banker Géront can provide her... But everything has its price and not even love can save everything.

Doric String Quartet (UK) Maia Cabeza, Ying Xue / violin Emma Wernig / viola John Myerscough / cello Program: Benjamin Britten String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 String Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op. 36

Mohicans of our music and underground scene with charismatic singer Tony Ducháček, who is the author of most of the lyrics based on unique peripheral slang. Garage songs gave us strength in difficult times and even after years they have not lost any of their energy. The band was formed in 1979, the current line-up, in addition to the permanent trio Tony Ducháček (vocals), Honza Macháček (guitar, vocals) and David Fikrle (bass), consists of René Starhon on drums and Honzík Pokorný – lead guitar. Tony Ducháček returned to the scene after a transplant and convalescence in 2025 with a sold-out concert in the Prague club Vagon. The band played their greatest hits there and it is clear that they are still having fun.

Workshop for 1st – 5th grade elementary school What, but especially who, is needed to create an opera performance? And what would it be like if children became set designers, costume designers, or even an orchestra for a while? We will find out together at the workshop How to Make an Opera! So what will we experience together: Getting to know the opera genre and some opera works. We will find out who works in the opera. We will try out some professions. We will learn selected theatrical terms. We will sing.

The desire to experiment and explore all kinds of genres has given the Clarinet Factory ensemble the opportunity to create a very specific style of music that is completely unmistakable. Four very diverse musicians, who have been playing together since 2007, benefit from their virtuoso and sonically perfect mastery of their instruments and, in addition to excellent interplay and human and musical connection, they present themselves as improvisers, composers, lyricists and singers. Their current work innovatively tries to use the possibilities of modern technology; the musicians cooperate and compete with their electronic image and are inspired by virtual possibilities. Percussionist Milan Cimfe supports the band with rhythmic patterns and records, loops and surprises in real time with unique layers of new recordings directly on stage.

Jindřich Pavliš, Vojtěch Nýdl, Luděk Boura and Petr “Pepíno” Valášek permanent guest: Milan Cimfe / percussion

Our audience's favorite group, the Belgian BL!NDMAN [sax], bring four of Bach's choral partitas in a unique arrangement by Eric Sleichim. It is said that Bach wrote these cycles of organ variations when he was only 15 years old, but later reworked them - so perfect are they. The distinctive sound spectrum of the four saxophones breathes a similar color as some baroque organs, so the choice of performing the choral partitas in an arrangement for these instruments is completely natural.

Pieter Pellens / soprano saxophone Hendrik Pellens / alto saxophone Piet Rebel / tenor saxophone Sebastiaan Cooman / baritone saxophone Eric Sleichim / artistic director and arranger

The band Island Mint continues to surprise the Czech indie scene with its unique approach, both in the studio and on concert stages. An infectiously relaxed atmosphere, a sense of playing with sound, fragile melodies telling imaginative stories – Island Mint is building its musical world from the ground up according to itself. In terms of genre, it mixes surf rock with psychedelia, shoegazing and garage energy. The new album has been heralded by the single Man of the People with a video clip shot in Morocco. Its exotic visuals and sound palette prove that Island Mint will easily reach the end of the world for a strong musical story. Music made for lonely night drives.

Ever Motel mixes dream pop with a "nightwave" aesthetic and captures the peaceful atmosphere of empty roads with only the glare of spotlights. Inspired by bands such as Men I Trust, Crumb or Tokyo Tea Room, Ever Motel balances between raw authenticity and cinematic mood. The band released their debut single, Low Beams, in January 2026, which is the first taste of the upcoming album Anemoia, a collection of songs about the fleeting beauty of moments that we often overlook.

The popular Czech singer-songwriter is going to conquer your heart at the place with the most beautiful view in Brno. Fans can look forward to a cross-section of his previous work as well as new releases that reflect the current times with perspective and humor. Klus will once again combine music, words and strong emotions into an original concert experience that will appeal to both the heart and the mind. Here you have it – because sometimes all you need to do is listen.

FRANTIŠEK ŠKROUP The Tinkerer, overture to the opera GABRIEL FAURÉ Sicilienne from the Pelléas and Mélisande suite GIUSEPPE VERDI La traviata, overture to the opera LUIGI BASSI / arr. NICOLAI PFFEFER Concert Fantasia on Themes from Verdi's Rigoletto for Clarinet and Orchestra SERGEI PROKOFIEV The Montagues and Capulets from the Ballet Romeo and Juliet ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK Hansel and Gretel, Overture to the Opera ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK "Erlöst befreit...", Aria and Children's Choir from Act 3 of Hansel and Gretel WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART "Ricevete, o padroncina...", Chorus from Act 3 of Scene 11 of The Marriage of Figaro FELIX MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY Song with Chorus and Finale from A Midsummer Night's Dream GEORGES BIZET "Avec la garde montante..." from Act 3 of Carmen PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Dance of the Snowflakes from Act 2 of The Nutcracker Cantiléna, Children's and Youth Choir at the Philharmonic Brno choirmaster Michal Jančík Brno Philharmonic and the “young Mozarts” (instrumentalists and singers) of the South Moravian Regional Art School and the Brno Conservatory conductor Robert Kružík moderated by Kristýna Drášilová

There are not many important and famous ballets of the classical and romantic era that our company does not have in its repertoire. The pinnacle of ballet romanticism, Giselle, is without exaggeration one of the cornerstones of the DNA of ballet literature. In 1841, the premiere of the new ballet Giselle took place in Paris and was such a huge success that within a decade it appeared on all the major stages of the ballet world of that time. The theme was provided by the German poet Heinrich Heine in his collection De l’Allemagne. The story of girls who died of betrayed love before their wedding and now cannot find peace in their graves was taken up by Théophile Gautier, a great theorist of romantic theatre and librettist Jules Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. The captivating, lovely and melodic music, filled with French charm, was created by A. CH. Adam. The first performer of the fragile Giselle was one of the greatest dancers of Romanticism, Carlotta Grisi, for whom this ballet was created by choreographers Jean Corrali and Jules Perrot. In the Czech lands, Giselle gained popularity among the audience only slowly. It only reached the Brno stage in the late 1960s, when it was first performed there by choreographer Miroslav Kůra (1968). The audience will certainly remember Jiří Blažek's 1983 grand prix production with the unforgettable ethereal ballerina Soňa Zejdová and later Jana Kosíková in the title role.

The Brno Philharmonic Hall will welcome orchestral colleagues from Prague, this time in chamber roles: in the Besední dům, the Czech Philharmonic Quartet will perform a Dvořák program together with pianist David Mareček; the evening will feature a special guest: Schumann's Five Folk Songs will be performed by cellist Lukáš Mareček accompanied by his father on piano. The young virtuoso will thus pay symbolic tribute to the composer, who fell in love with the beauty of the cello sound so much that he introduced it as a solo instrument in his compositions.

Czech Philharmonic Quartet Irena Jakubcová, Petra Brabcová / violin Eva Krestová / viola Václav Petr / cello

Lukáš Mareček / cello

David Mareček / piano

Return to the beginnings of shoegaze! The original sound and image from 1993 is brought back with a vinyl LP reissue of the album Swirl, for a few exceptional concerts only, by HERE, a pioneer of the independent indie and noise scene of the 90s. A new light penetrating the shoegaze fog in the hands of the current generation.

Eternity Again is a mosaic of unusual sonic ideas with echoes of IDM, trip hop and noise rock, over which ethereal vocals reminiscent of Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine and Ecstasy of St. Theresa dominate.

rock folk musical

Tell the mountains, forests and valleys/ that the greatest of bandits was the only one… Thus begins one of the most famous variants of the often-told story of the Slovak bandit Juraj Jánošík, a folk-rock musical, which was brought to the world in 1970 under the title Na skle malované by two Polish creators – composer Katarzyna Gärtnerová and librettist Ernest Bryll.

Sunday concert of an energetic young big band, which will impress with original arrangements and fresh interpretations of well-known songs. This time with the vocal support of Petr Gazdík and Ivana Vaňková. Typical swing melodies, but also songs from the top of the charts, all in styles from swing to jazz-rock. The band of young musicians has extensive experience with concerts at the Metro Club, at Brno festivals, and has also participated in foreign events and shows. It stands out with its energetic playing and fresh interpretations. The big band of the Veveří Elementary School is led by the great musician Tomáš Prokop, who also took care of the original arrangements of some songs. The band will be joined by popular singers Petr Gazdík and Ivana Vaňková as guests. You can look forward to songs such as My Way or Strangers In The Night by Frank Sinatra, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, Shallow by Lady Gaga and many others. Make your afternoon walk through Brno on a Sunday even more stylish and enrich it with a pleasant portion of music!

Its definition may sound complicated, but the Fibonacci sequence is ubiquitous: a numerical sequence where each number is the sum of the two previous ones (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13…) is related to the golden ratio, a symbol of harmony and natural beauty. We see it in the arrangement of flower petals, sunflower seeds or in the spirals on seashells. It also catches our eye on the snails of the instruments of the musicians who make up the Fibonacci Quartet. The achievements of the four young artists are astounding: in 2024 they won both the first prize and the audience prize at the prestigious Premio Paolo Borciani competition, they are the resident quartet at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Grand Résident ensemble at ProQuartet in Paris for the 2025–2027 seasons. They will bring to Valtice the program Letters and Landscapes, referring to the title of Janáček's famous work and Bartók's love for the music of various landscapes, in the case of the fifth quartet, the Bulgarian one.

This year, the 25-year-old prominent Finnish quartet Meta4 returns to our festival with a brand new program, Polarkr(e)is. Meta4 pays homage to the sound world of the Arctic Circle through a pair of works by Finnish composers: the one-movement composition Fleurs de neige (Snow Flowers) was inspired by the glitter and structural symmetry of snow and was created especially for Meta4 by the famous Kaija Saariaho; the piece has no bar lines, constantly floats in the air, and all performances are unique – just like snowflakes. Sibelius’s quartet Voces intimae is one of the most famous Finnish chamber works. The string quartet Stringar was composed by the Italian-Indian composer and Norwegian Hardanger fiddler Krishna Nagaraj, combining the old and the new through Nordic folk dance melodies and became a real hit at Meta4 concerts. Where is the environmental theme Polarkr(e)is, declared in the title, reflected in this program? "The nature that surrounds us is the core of our culture. If we lose nature as it was and is, we will also lose the culture that created the songs and thoughts of the people who created these melodies," Meta4 state.

STEPMOTHER (AUS)

An Australian power trio fronted by Graham Clise, who you may know from bands like Annihilation Time, Witch, Lecherous Gaze, Holier Than Thou? or Rot TV. Stepmother mix raw proto-punk soaked in fuzz and feedback with the darker side of psychedelia. Anthems for the poor, depraved weirdos and rock’n’roll outcasts. Stepmother’s influences include bands like Blue Cheer and The Pink Fairies as well as Nervous Eaters and The Damned.

GxUxTxSx

Fast hardcore punk, where few songs exceed two minutes. In the summer of 2025 they released a great album Skatespiracy, with which they toured Spain and Portugal. You may know the faces of GxUxTxSx from bands like Skiplife, Repelent SS, Gospel of the Future, Sloth, Mindlock or My Dead Cat.

rock folk musical

Tell the mountains, forests and valleys/ that the greatest of bandits was the only one… Thus begins one of the most famous variants of the often-told story of the Slovak bandit Juraj Jánošík, a folk-rock musical, which was brought to the world in 1970 under the title Na skle malované by two Polish creators – composer Katarzyna Gärtnerová and librettist Ernest Bryll.

The meeting of violist Avri Levitan and the young ambitious musicians who make up the successful Trio Bohémo took place two years ago in Berlin during the unique educational project Musethica, which Avri built with the conviction that the teaching of music itself can be an act of communication between musicians and the audience. The perfect harmony between the master teacher and the talented student occurs not only on the level of interpretation, but we can also hear it in selected compositions: Dvořák composed his magnificent Piano Quartet in E flat major shortly before he accepted a professorship at the Prague Conservatory. And it was the piano quartet form that seventeen-year-old Josef Suk chose for his first excellent composition in the master's composition class.

The Brno concert series Bach to Mozart! is set for a grand finale. In the Church of St. John the Minorite, Baroque treasures from the Kroměříž archive will be heard in a modern world premiere under the baton of the stellar Tomáš Netopil, performed by the SILENTIUM! ensemble.

We invite all musicians and the audience to an open jam session in the heart of Brno. Come with your friends, bring an instrument or just a good mood and enjoy an evening full of spontaneous music. Do you want to play? Contact the organizer (Pavel Sikora: pan.palosaurus@gmail.com) - Complete backline equipment and drums available (guitar box + head, bass box + head, guitar combo) - All you need is an instrument and cable, drums, sticks and cymbals - We are open to all levels of playing and people with no experience in bands or live performances are welcome We just ask: listen to others leave your celebrity manners at home behave respectfully towards the equipment open drinks do not belong on stage Let's create a unique musical experience together! Admission is voluntary.

Those expecting an octet made up of two quartets will be surprised by the unusual instrument combination on stage: the string quartet is complemented by a clarinet, French horn, bassoon and double bass! Schubert's masterpiece pushed the boundaries of chamber music, magnificent and intimate at the same time, a six-movement gem for all music lovers, which Schubert composed two hundred years ago at the request of the Viennese nobleman Ferdinand Troyer, an enthusiastic clarinetist. At its fourth residency concert, the Pavel Haas Quartet will perform it together with four musical friends, masters of their instruments.

rock folk musical

Tell the mountains, forests and valleys/ that the greatest of bandits was the only one… Thus begins one of the most famous variants of the often-told story of the Slovak bandit Juraj Jánošík, a folk-rock musical, which was brought to the world in 1970 under the title Na skle malované by two Polish creators – composer Katarzyna Gärtnerová and librettist Ernest Bryll.

Workshop for 1st – 5th grade elementary school What, but especially who, is needed to create an opera performance? And what would it be like if children became set designers, costume designers, or even an orchestra for a while? We will find out together at the workshop How to Make an Opera! So what will we experience together: Getting to know the opera genre and some opera works. We will find out who works in the opera. We will try out some professions. We will learn selected theatrical terms. We will sing.

Program 8

The junior company will present its second premiere in the 2025/2026 season in February under the title NdB 2: Dispute / Archa /Inside. The eighth premiere evening will present three original choreographies created specifically for NdB 2. In a dramaturgically diverse triptych, three different authorial perspectives meet, which develop the interpretive abilities of young dancers and at the same time respond to the themes that accompany them on their path to adult artistic expression.

The Ellaboration project by singer Dasha and the Epoque Quartet refers to the American music legend Ella Fitzgerald. It is the songs made famous by this jazz icon that the artists develop or elaborate into new, fresh positions. The specific and amazingly complex sound of the combination of a string quartet with various percussion instruments (hangdrum, vibraphone, cajon), with which Šimon Veselý excels, gives our lead singer Dasha the space to demonstrate her uniqueness in a slightly different field than we are used to. The author of most of the arrangements is the arranger wizard and violist of the quartet, Alexej Aslamas.

Since their formation in 2019, the band něko něko has oscillated between indie, rock, synth pop and sometimes post-punk. You will want to sing their melodies over and over again and the choruses will make you dance. And they are not afraid to show it at their spontaneous concerts. Czech lyrics guarantee that their songs will touch you. Maybe they will caress, maybe they will hug, maybe they will clap. It depends on what phase of the menstrual cycle the singer Alžběta was writing them in.

Meluzína is a five-member girl altpop band from Ústí nad Labem, which last year drew significant attention on the Czech scene by winning the Startér Radio Wave hit parade, among other things. This year, they are following up on this success with a shortlist nomination for the Anděl award in the Discovery of the Year category.

rock folk musical

Tell the mountains, forests and valleys/ that the greatest of bandits was the only one… Thus begins one of the most famous variants of the often-told story of the Slovak bandit Juraj Jánošík, a folk-rock musical, which was brought to the world in 1970 under the title Na skle malované by two Polish creators – composer Katarzyna Gärtnerová and librettist Ernest Bryll.

The talent festival MOZART'S CHILDREN has been organized by the Brno Philharmonic in cooperation with the Primary School of the South Moravian Region for 16 years. This concert is dedicated to exceptionally talented students, winners of the Primary School music competitions, who will perform in solo roles together with the Brno Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra on the stage of the Besední dom (Talking House).

This year's program is enriched with a special Kyjov dimension: the four playwrights also include local native, excellent violist and respected teacher Pavel Nikl, who is also a founding and former long-time member of the festival's resident ensemble Pavel Haas Quartet. The idea of ​​organizing their joint concert in Kyjov was therefore a natural choice. The selection of compositions fell on two gems of chamber literature - the string quintets of Antonín Dvořák and Johannes Brahms, masterpieces that, thanks to the two viola parts, sound doubly velvety, almost orchestral.

BASTL JAM

A traditional event of friends around Bastl Instruments, a celebration of not only modular synths, but creativity and community. Pure musical exploration and live experiments. Come and be a part of the organic happenings within the local electronic scene. Performers: Cera Plast václav Face of Sur rabrt Mcat Kalimba presentation by The Middleware

rock folk musical

Tell the mountains, forests and valleys/ that the greatest of bandits was the only one… Thus begins one of the most famous variants of the often-told story of the Slovak bandit Juraj Jánošík, a folk-rock musical, which was brought to the world in 1970 under the title Na skle malované by two Polish creators – composer Katarzyna Gärtnerová and librettist Ernest Bryll.

The Sound of America Performed by the Largest Brass Orchestra in the Czech Republic Moravia Brass Band, the resident ensemble of the Brno Brass Fest, invites you to an evening dedicated to 20th-century American music. In the unique setting of the Bishop's Court in Brno, a selection of compositions inspired by jazz, film and American folklore will be performed - in original arrangements for brass orchestra. The centerpiece of the program will be a suite from the legendary musical West Side Story by composer Leonard Bernstein, which combines Latin American rhythms, classical orchestration and the drama of Broadway music. The concert will be enriched with scenic dance, which will add a new visual and emotional dimension to the music. Conducted by Robert Kružík, with accompanying words by Jiří Kokmotos.

A quartet of virtuoso percussionists, performing together as the Colin Currie Quartet since 2018, pay tribute to the genius and courage of Steve Reich and the composers inspired by his work. The quartet is made up of respected world-class percussionists who perform as soloists, orchestral percussionists and chamber musicians; each member brings their own unique perspective on chamber percussion to the quartet. Together, they create spectacular sound performances that have been applauded by audiences at London's famous Wigmore Hall, as well as the 2,000-seat auditorium of the Beijing NCPA.

A show by an exceptionally talented and charming Argentinian guitarist and singer, who will also visit the Czech Republic and Slovakia with her trio as part of her European tour. Her concerts are an extraordinary spectacle of fiery music in the form of jazz, rock, and blues. Vanesa was also the star of the Jazz u Rodena festival!

A perverse dulcimer fusion of CM Friška z Vracov and Mucha songs. The idea arose from a request by the band J.A.R. to cover one of the songs from their album "Eskalace dobra" for the purposes of the cover album Eskalace bebra. At that time, Nikola chose the bonus song "Právě jsem se pochcala" (I Just Peed), which deals with stress incontinence, and covered it with the aforementioned dulcimer music. After a few years, Nikola came up with the idea of ​​continuing their work together, and the band has already played several concerts. Nikola regularly borrows a costume for concerts and spins like crazy.

Tours of the theatre buildings are very popular among visitors. This summer, professional guides are available to you, who will not only introduce you to the history of the Janáček and Mahen Theatre buildings and their construction development, but will also tell you all sorts of interesting and spicy things that you will not hear about. You will get to places inaccessible to ordinary spectators, such as backstage or technical rooms of the theatre. During the season, tours can be arranged by individual agreement (at least a week before the tour date) for groups of at least ten people.

Tours of the theatre buildings are very popular among visitors. This summer, professional guides are available to you, who will not only introduce you to the history of the Janáček and Mahen Theatre buildings and their construction development, but will also tell you all sorts of interesting and spicy things that you will not hear about. You will get to places inaccessible to ordinary spectators, such as backstage or technical rooms of the theatre. During the season, tours can be arranged by individual agreement (at least a week before the tour date) for groups of at least ten people.

DOKOŘÁN Festival – Musical biography of Richard Müller with his songs. The author's musical is inspired by the life and work of Richard Müller, a living phenomenon of the Slovak music scene.

Joint concert of Kabinet + FuARETet in Zahrada u Sosny.

Program 8

The junior company will present its second premiere in the 2025/2026 season in February under the title NdB 2: Dispute / Archa /Inside. The eighth premiere evening will present three original choreographies created specifically for NdB 2. In a dramaturgically diverse triptych, three different authorial perspectives meet, which develop the interpretive abilities of young dancers and at the same time respond to the themes that accompany them on their path to adult artistic expression.