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An evening dedicated to the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Franz Liszt, and Sergei Rachmaninoff, performed by piano virtuoso Natalia Sklarenko. The concert offers a unique fusion of classical music and visual art, featuring video projections by London-based graphic artist Christian Bodhi. Audiences can look forward to a distinctive artistic experience showcasing some of the most significant and technically demanding works in the piano repertoire.

Admission is voluntary.

Program:

Sergei Rachmaninoff – Sonata No. 2, Op. 36
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – The Seasons, Op. 37a
Franz Liszt – Nocturne "Liebestraum"
Franz Liszt – Sonata in B minor

A unifying thread runs through all of Leoš Janáček’s compositions: profound humanity and original form. This applies perhaps most strongly to his final two major works—the opera *From the House of the Dead* and the *Glagolitic Mass*. The former offers a concise glimpse into the souls of prisoners, while the latter provides a distinctive expression of faith set to an Old Church Slavonic text. The Janáček Brno 2022 festival saw a unique pairing of these two works; presenting the *Glagolitic Mass* in a staged format as a continuation of *From the House of the Dead* imbues both pieces with a new message regarding faith in humanity.

The prisoners live in the brutal conditions of a Siberian penal colony; behind every name lies a harrowing human destiny—misfortune and wickedness, yet also a spark of hope. Bit by bit, in brief vignettes, Leoš Janáček tells their stories in this singular final work. A creative genius and master of concision, Janáček manages to capture the essence of humanity within a compact scope. Despite the grim conclusion, the score of *From the House of the Dead* begins with the inscription: "In every creature, a spark of God!" This idea links his final opera to another equally unique work, the *Glagolitic Mass*. As Janáček himself put it: "Here, I wished to capture faith in the nation’s certainty—not on a religious foundation, but on a strong moral one that calls upon God as a witness."

World-renowned vocal legend Andreas Scholl returns to Brno. Marking yet another collaboration, this project brings monumental works of the European Baroque—performed in an authentic style—beneath the vaulted ceiling of the Cathedral on Petrov Hill.

The concert commemorates the 500th anniversary of the Habsburgs' accession to the Czech throne, featuring ceremonial music composed for coronations and pivotal historical moments marked by the sound of trumpets and choirs. The program includes, among other works, Handel’s *Zadok the Priest*.

Program: G. F. Handel: Coronation Anthems, J. D. Zelenka: Te Deum, J. J. Fux: Turcaria
Conductor: Andreas Scholl
Performer: SILENTIUM!ensemble

The Faculty of Music at JAMU regularly presents a specially curated student program to audiences at the Janáček Festival, showcasing student artistic activities in an unconventional format. Moreover, the event offers a glimpse into the specific environments of various study disciplines—spaces typically unseen by the average concertgoer. Attendees thus have the opportunity not only to hear performances by young artists but also to explore different parts of the faculty—ranging from the JAMU concert hall and student stage areas to truly unconventional locations, including the school’s corridors—all accompanied by the music of these young artists.

Claude Debussy: Trois chansons de Bilitis, L. 97

Dmitri Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100

Reynaldo Hahn: Venezia (selections)

Luciano Berio: Quattro canzoni popolari

Benjamin Britten: Folk Song Arrangements, Vol. 2 (selections)

Manuel de Falla: Siete canciones populares españolas

The recital explores the fascinating interplay between the internal and external perspectives through song literature and folk song arrangements that transcend cultural boundaries.

Antonín Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 4 "Dumky", Op. 90, B. 166

Leoš Janáček: String Quartet No. 1 "Kreutzer Sonata" (inspired by Leo Tolstoy), JW VII/8

Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57 

Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor "Dumky", Op. 90, composed in 1890–1891, ranks among the most original and beloved works in Antonín Dvořák’s (1841–1904) chamber music repertoire. While the composer had adhered to the classical sonata form in his earlier trios, here he departed from it entirely to create a unique six-movement cycle based on the *dumka*—a Ukrainian dance characterized by abrupt shifts in mood. The composition captivates the listener with the contrast between pensive, melancholic passages and unbridled, rhythmically spirited joy. It is precisely this emotional volatility and deep grounding in folk inspiration that make the "Dumky" a work of immense inner strength, in which Dvořák masterfully blended his melodic inventiveness with an unconventional musical structure.

Leoš Janáček’s (1854–1928) String Quartet No. 1 "Kreutzer Sonata" (inspired by Leo Tolstoy) dates from 1923. However, its origins trace back to 1908, when Janáček composed a Piano Trio—now lost—inspired by the same short story by Tolstoy. Its protagonist is a woman terrorized by her despotic and pathologically jealous husband, at whose hands she is ultimately tormented to death. "I had in mind a poor woman—tormented, beaten, beaten to death," said Janáček, describing a motif that runs like a common thread through many of his other works. With its passionate expression, the quartet penetrates to the very core of human emotion and into the most intimate realms of the human soul. The work achieved success soon after its 1924 premiere and, even after more than a century, remains one of the most compelling pieces in the quartet genre.

The complete presentation of Janáček’s operas during the festival’s 10th edition offers a unique opportunity not only to enjoy his masterpieces but also to discover works rarely seen on stage today. Alongside Janáček’s debut, *Šárka*, these include his second opera, *The Beginning of a Romance* (*Počátek románu*), a piece strongly influenced by the period when the composer was deeply interested in folklore. The libretto was based on a short story of the same name by Gabriela Preissová—herself inspired by a genre painting by Jaroslav Věšín—and was written by Janáček’s colleague from the grammar school, František Rypáček (publishing under the name Jaromír Tichý), after Eliška Krásnohorská had declined the task.

The simple love story of Poluška, a village girl, and Adolf, a young man from the gentry—a romance that meets with disapproval from Adolf’s parents—is filled with music derived from Janáček’s own transcriptions of folk music. Janáček himself described the opera as a *vaudeville*, a genre characterized by a simple plot accompanied by popular (i.e., folk) tunes—in this case, including folk dances. The premiere, conducted by the composer himself, took place in Brno on February 10, 1894, and brought Janáček his first theatrical success. By that time, however, he was already working on *Jenůfa* (*Její pastorkyňa*); in that work, he discovered a distinctive musical language and ultimately embarked on a path vastly different from the one outlined in *The Beginning of a Romance*.