Interviews
On this very day (19 May) an event will start in Valašské Meziříčí which all the dulcimer players from almost all over the world have been looking forward to for two years. It is the 14th International Dulcimer Festival, which has been held in this town every odd year since 1995. This year, it is sure to be rather modest due to the pandemic situation; the organizers are going to stream some of the concerts, while others will be broadcast on the Czech Radio stations Vltava and Brno. This year, Michal Grombiřík, a dulcimer player, became the first ever such musician admitted to the Jazz Music Interpretation Department of the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts (JAMU). What is the path from a traditional folk song, through classical music to jazz music, and what exactly is Michal going to do at the aforementioned dulcimer festival? We covered all these topics in our conversation. more
One of the few positives of the otherwise tormented musical year 2020 is the unusually rich Czech jazz harvest: sixty (!) albums and projects either purely jazz or significantly affected by jazz were released last year. Many of the most highly acclaimed ones are connected to Brno in various ways – for example, the debut Bigbandová elektronika (Bigband Electronica) by the increasingly prominent Cotatcha Orchestra and the ensemble’s second album Dust in the Groove, testing the boundaries of classical music and jazz through refined improvisation. more
More than twenty years ago, the Harafica cimbalom ensemble was founded at the Primary School of Arts in Uherské Hradiště. For most music fans, it is known for its unusual arrangements of folk songs, excellent performances of musicians, sold-out concerts, but also unusual fusions of genres. And it was about their latest cross-over project that I talked with the musical director and cimbalom player of Harafica music, Peter Gablas, from whose pen all the musical arrangements can be heard in it. It is their new album, which is called Harafica Symphonic. Connecting traditional folk music with the powerful sound of the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava with the Brno conductor Robert Kružík. You can hear old texts from the collections of František Sušil, Janáček motifs and the singing of two interesting guests. more
The album Folk Swings of the Brno-based B-Side Band is being vividly discussed on social networks. Can a big band take the liberty of to playing the "sacred" songs of Czech folk? And what if these compositions are sung along with the band directly by their authors such as Jaromír Nohavica, Vlasta Redl or Slávek Janoušek? However, while the above might have been able to have their say concerning the arrangements, Karel Kryl, Zuzana Navarová or Wabi Ryvola could no longer make any comments regarding the makeovers of their songs… We talked to Petr Kovařík and Pavel Zlámal, members of the orchestra, about how the album was created, why Ryvola's song 'Tereza' sounds like a Cuban dance, and why 'Podvod' ('Scam') by Honza Nedvěd is played only as an instrumental piece. The two guys have actually created new arrangements for widely famed as well as less well-known folk songs, which now appear on this album. more
The newly built church in Brno Lesná suburb provided inspiration for the flautist Martina Komínková for her album Resonance. The CD cover art features photos of the church ceiling, which glitters with all the colours of the rainbow. The album itself is colourful in a similar way; the musician uses several different types of flute on it. more
Shortly before the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis, the Brno-based group Plum Dumplings released a new album. As opposed to their official debut L'épitaphe des papillons (The Epitome of Butterflies, 2014), sung in French, the band went for Czech lyrics this time. We are talking to the band's vocalist, who presents herself as Adéla Polka. more
After Easter, an official statement that ruined every folklore lover's day appeared on social networks and in the media. The folklore festival in Strážnice will not take place this year. The reasons are well known to everyone. Yesterday, another wave of coronavirus lockdown easement began, and this was not the only reason why we talked to Martin Šimša, director of the National Institute of Folk Culture (NÚLK) in Strážnice. Well, is there really a reason for mourning? What can we look forward to in the immediate future? And when is the best time to visit the castle park and the open-air museum in Strážnice? These questions, and not only these, will be answered in the following interview. more
The double album Hrubá Hudba, which was jointly created by producer Jiří Hradil (Lesní zvěř, Tata Bojs, Kafka Band and others) and the Horňácká muzika band of Petr Mička, is an extraordinary musical achievement that puts together genuine Horňácko singing (the CD Hlasy starého světa [Voices of the Old World]) and folklore shifted to modern musical expression (the CD Hrubá hudba [Rough Music]). In an extensive two-part interview, we talked to the two fathers of the project, Jiří Hradil and Petr Mička, about their long-term cooperation, their path to Hrubá Hudba and finally about the double album itself and the possible continuation of the project. more
Trumpet player Jiří Kotača is the leader of a young, but very interesting and healthily ambitious big band named Cotatcha Orchestra. While this Brno-based orchestra is still waiting for its first album, Kotača recently released a CD with his smaller ensemble – the international Alf Carlsson/Jiří Kotača Quartet. The album is entitled Journeys. more
The singer Lizz Wright was born in 1980 to the family of a pastor. From childhood, gospel music was close to her, she used to sing in a choir and later began to adore additional originally Afro-American genres, such as soul, blues and jazz. In November 2019 at the Blues Alive festival in Šumperk she performed with her own band, but in Brno she will be accompanied by the Brno Philharmonic along with a trio of Prague jazz performers (David Dorůžka – guitar, Tomáš Baroš – double bass, Daniel Šoltis – drums). The concert will take place on 3 May in the Janáček Theatre as part of the JAZZFESTBRNO 2020 festival. more
On Friday 14 February, the Sono Centre in Brno hosted a genre-diversified festival, which was also a celebration of three decades of activity of three publishing branches, which we associate with the original simple name Indies Records. Over the years, Indies Records has divided itself into three separate labels with three distinct edition catalogues – Indies MG, Indies Scope and Indies Happy Trails, which are operated by the personalities of Miloš Gruber, Milan Páleš and Jaromír Kratochvíl. more
On the next day after the powerful experience I had gotten from the performance of Requiem by the Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian, I had the opportunity to meet its creator. The fragile, gentle and sincere music thus foreshadowed me of its author, with whom I spent a few precious moments in the director's lounge of the Besední dům in Brno in a very friendly conversation. more
The Prophet and the Wind is a multi-genre performance by flute player Martina Komínková. She created it in Italy and after its Italian premiere it will be presented in Brno for the first time. The Czech premiere will take place at Brno's Divadlo na Orlí Theatre on Sunday 3 November. The evening show starting at 7:00 pm is already sold out, but you can still buy tickets for the afternoon performance scheduled at 2:00 pm. more
Doctor Fligg talked to us about one of the most talented composers and musicians of the first half of the twentieth century – Gideon Klein. He is at the same time one of the organizers of the project Gido‘s coming home, which commemorates a flat one hundred years from the composer’s birth. more
Only rarely one single song is the main topic for an interview. In the case of the cellist Josef Klíč, the concert master of the National Theatre in Brno, this was offered. It does not happen every day that a Czech composer and his song reach the finals of a worldwide competition. However, there were more reasons for our talk – memories of the late Jaroslav Erik Frič, Josef's contract at the Janáček Theatre and the upcoming new album. more
The cycle of classical music concerts directed by its founder, Barbara Maria Willi, has been an integral part of cultural events in the Moravian capital for twenty-three years. The audience in Brno has already been introduced to a number of outstanding personalities and ensembles with whom Barbara Maria Willi regularly cooperates. This year's opening concert, traditionally held on Wednesday, 11 February, in the hall of the Convent of the Merciful Brothers with a subtitle Music in Motion offered a combination of the art of the fortepiano with flute played by Sofia Mavrogenidou and accompanied by young dancers Klementýna Anna Špičková and Adam Mišo, choreographed by David Strnad. more
The final concert of this year’s instalment of the Barbara Maria Willi Presents series offered a unique project that on 4 December brought together two ensembles in the Convent of the Brothers of Mercy: Cappella Pratensis and Ramillete de Tonos. They showed the audience the many different ways in which one can work with the polyphonic repertoire of the 15th and 16th centuries. The programme intertwined sacred and secular music, and purely vocal, vocal-instrumental and purely instrumental pieces. more
The rediscovery and digitisation of the Brno polyphonic manuscripts BAM 1 and BAM 2 has opened a new chapter in the study and performance of Renaissance music. At the crossroads of historical research, modern technology, and artistic interpretation stands Past Forward, a cross-border project connecting institutions from the Netherlands, Belgium and the Czech Republic. At its artistic core are two musicians whose approaches complement each other: Tim Braithwaite, artistic director of Cappella Pratensis, and Kateřina Maňáková, lutenist, teacher of early plucked instruments at Janáček Academy of Performing Arts and guarantor of the entire initiative. In this conversation, they discuss working with previously overlooked sources, the challenges of historically informed performance, the promises of international collaboration, and their vision for the future of early-music interpretation. more
The concert by Filharmonie Brno under Dennis Russell Davies on Thursday 6 November in Besední dům offered a fascinating programme combining the work of two contemporary composers from the former Soviet Union. The performers included Armenian baritone Aksel Daveyan, violist Julian Veverica, percussionist Lukáš Krejčí, and the Austrian Hard-Chor Linz choir under choirmaster Alexander Koller. more
Brno-born pianist and Director General of the Czech Philharmonic, David Mareček, is appearing together with cellist Václav Petr on a concert tour in South Korea. During the first week of November, the duo is presenting Czech repertoire on prestigious stages, including the Seogwipo Arts Center, Yongin Poeun Art Hall and Daegu Concert House. more
Moravian Autumn, organised by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, has long been one of the most important musical events of the autumn season. For the third time it also included the student project New World of Moravian Autumn – living proof that the connection between academia and professional practice can yield stimulating and deeply artistic results. This project, which originated at JAMU as an experiment within the course in practical dramaturgy, has evolved into a fully-fledged and respected part of the festival programme over the past few years. more
22 September this year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875-1911) - Lithuanian artist, composer, painter and choirmaster, founder of Lithuanian national music and a representative of Symbolism and Art Nouveau. The concert entitled Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis - MKČ 150, which clearly referenced this anniversary, took place on Thursday 23 October at Besední dům. The programme combined Čiurlionis’s compositions with works by František Chaloupka, who also collaborated on the project as dramaturge. The concert was given the umbrella title Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis / František Chaloupka: Moje cesta (My Journey), a nod to one of Čiurlionis' pictorial triptychs. Chaloupka's work, however, does not follow directly on from Čiurlionis. It follows its own path, but connects with him through inspiration in mythology, where it sees a strong reflection of the present. more
The concert evening by PhilHarmonia Octet Prague with guest baritone Roman Hoza brought a programme conceived with curatorial sensitivity - with emphasis on the continuity of the classical tradition and its later metamorphoses. more
The Brno staging of Janáček's Jenůfa at the Moravian Autumn Festival once again proved that even after many years, an original directorial concept can still reveal new dramatic and musical nuances when refreshed through a partly renewed cast and interpretive inventiveness. Martin Glaser’s direction remains firmly grounded in a realistic reading of the work, yet in combination with Robert Kružík’s musical leadership the production feels alive, gripping, and emotionally genuine. more
The chamber music programme of the 53rd Moravian Autumn International Festival on Thursday featured songs by Franz Schubert arranged for guitar and voice by the duo María Cristina Kiehr (soprano) and Pablo Márquez (romantic guitar). The evening, entitled Longing, took place in Brno’s Besední dům. more
Liane Sadler and Elias Conrad bring an intimate synthesis of Renaissance flutes and lutes to Brno. They adapt polyphonic compositions, various dance forms and airs de cour for their instruments, using historical improvisation techniques such as diminution or bastarda. Sadler & Conrad is an ensemble included in the prestigious pan-European S-EEEmerging project focused on the professional and sustainable development of young early music ensembles. They come to Brno at the invitation of the Concentus Moraviae festival, which is one of the twelve partners of this project. As part of their residency, they will perform at a concert in the series "Barbara Maria Willi presents..." on 7/10 at 7 pm in the Convent of the Brothers of Mercy. more
The prologue of the annual Lednice-Valtice Music Festival took place in Brno's Reduta Theatre on Saturday 20 September 2025. The festival’s opening evening featured the Brno chamber Ensemble Opera Diversa with conductor Gabriela Tardonová. The 10th anniversary year of the festival is subtitled From the New World, which is probably why the dramaturgy focused on young artists - pianist Ayla Bárta and violinist Matteo Hager, as symbolical representatives of the future world. more
With Sunday's opening concert, Filharmonie Brno embarked on its seventieth anniversary season and also its eighth led by conductor Dennis Russell Davies. The Kantiléna children's choir is celebrating the same anniversary as Filharmonie Brno, and so the two ensembles coming together for the opening concert of the season was the perfect choice. At the Janáček Theatre this conjunction was provided by Gustav Mahler's monumental Symphony No. 3 in D minor. The aforementioned performers were complemented by mezzo-soprano Kateřina Hebelková and the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno. more
Jelena Popržan is a viola player. Born in Serbia, she studied in Austria, where she now lives, and this year she will be a guest at the Brno Music Marathon Festival. On Sunday, 10 August, she will perform in the courtyard of the House of the Lords of Kunštát as part of the Balkan Soirée. We are talking to Jelena Popržan about her path to music, the challenges and joys of playing the viola, the historical perspective of this instrument and the various groups and projects she is involved in. more
This year, more than 41,000 people visited the International Folklore Festival in Strážnice, a record-breaking number. Indeed, a surprising number. Such a vast number of people gathering in one place at a time when the demise of folklore and folklorism had been predicted many times over. What made them do it? This year’s 80th anniversary year certainly helped, but the anniversary alone would not have been enough. What is the charm? Every visitor takes away a different experience, a different memory, a different story. And I will offer you mine now. So, what was my Strážnice 2025 experience like? And did I find the answer to the question of what lies behind its immense appeal? more
Editorial
Cultural newsletter of the Department of Culture of the City of Brno for February 2026
The Brno cultural newsletter provides an overview of events and opportunities related to theatres, clubs, and various cultural activities in Brno in the coming period. more
Musica Florea Brings the Finest Spanish Baroque to Brno
Musica Florea continues its quest for unusual composers and historical styles to present to the Czech audience. The March lineup of the Musica Florea Bohemia 2026 series will be dominated by the Stabat Mater concert, a selection of works by Spanish Baroque masters. Soprano Beatriz Lafont Murcia will sing with the orchestra. The Brno performance will take place in the Hall of the Merciful Brothers (formerly the Convent). more
The Golden Coupon Competition: Treasure Hunt of the National Theatre Brno
The National Theatre Brno has prepared a rare contest for all entertainment lovers and theatregoers. From 26 February to 3 April, they can participate in the Golden Coupon Competition with a grand finale on Good Friday. more
Vladimír Movement Performance in Industra Brno
In mid-March, the movement performance Vladimír by ORBITA returns to the stage. It is a personal and artistic testimony of dancer Vladimír Kloubek, who celebrated his 80th birthday last year, featuring Kloubek as the main character of the performance and his two younger selves on one stage. The production will be staged in the large hall of Industra Brno. more
Brno City Theatre Adds Musical Performances in April and May
Due to exceptional audience demand, the Brno City Theatre is adding extra performances of the musicals ViK!NG and Les Misérables on the Music Stage in April and May. more
Igor Ardašev to Perform Two Piano Concertos in One Evening Celebrating 70 Years of the Brno Philharmonic
The Brno Philharmonic continues to celebrate its seventieth anniversary, this time looking back to its first season. This week's concerts will feature Vincent d'Indy's Symphony on a French Mountain Air, which was performed in December 1956 under the direction of František Jílek, who later became the chief conductor. Seventy years ago, Jaroslav Sháněl featured as the soloist. This time it will be Igor Ardašev, a native of Brno, whose returns to the home stage are always welcomed by the audience with enthusiasm. In addition, he will play two concerts in a single evening, quite a challenge for a soloist. Besides d'Indy's symphony, he will also play César Franck's Symphonic Variations for Piano and Orchestra. more
Amadeus: Europe’s finest young pianists perform together in Besední dům
Now in its 32nd year, the international Mozart-themed competition Amadeus, open to young pianists up to the age of 15, is a prestigious platform showcasing rising talent. While there is no lower age limit, the upper one is set at fifteen. Amadeus will see 87 children from ten countries compete. The concert showcasing young piano talents from all over Europe will take place in Besední dům. more
Alcina with Magdalena Kožená in the title role
Händel’s Alcina, prepared musically by Václav Luks with Collegium 1704 and staged in Jiří Heřman’s lavish production, returns to the Janáček Theatre stage for just four performances. In the title role, Magdalena Kožená will make a rare appearance. more
Culture Newsletter of the Culture Department of the Brno City Municipality, November 2025
The Brno Culture Newsletter presents an overview of upcoming events and opportunities concerning theatres, clubs and various cultural events in Brno. more
Christmas markets to open with a tree lighting ceremony with Brno City Theatre
Brno Christmas, organised by TIC BRNO, will begin this year on Friday 21 November. On náměstí Svobody, Dominikánské náměstí and in the courtyard of the Old Town Hall, visitors can look forward to an Advent full of lights, music and new surprises. The opening will unfold as a Christmas story brought to life by actors from Brno City Theatre. The 'Ordinary–Extraordinary Family', known from this year’s Brno Christmas posters by illustrator Tomáš SMOT Svoboda, will guide us through the festive afternoon. more
