Interviews
The group Nebeztebe (a pun containing both "Not without You" and "Heaven from You) literally shone in the Brno scene a few years ago. The five-member line-up, with its marked rhythms, seemingly above styles, celebrated victory at Porta and headed for the giant multi-genre festivals. Under bandleader Štěpán Hulc seemingly the band went to sleep and only returned this year with a brand new, three-member line-up. The new Nebeztebe is made up of guitar, violin and mandolin and has not given up on taking a multi-genre approach. Once more they are giving concerts and are coming out with the concept album Zásobování duše (which might be translated as Supplying the Soul). more
One of the musicians who will appear at Folkové prázdniny [Folk Holidays] in Náměšť nad Oslavou as part of a special programme called Harfy nad Oslavou [Harps upon Oslava], is the Colombian harpist Edmar Castañeda. In Náměšť, he will also give a solo recital as part of an evening called O duši s lehkostí i naléhavostí [About Soul with Lightness and Urgency]. In our telephone conversation – we called him to New York where he lives – we talked to Edmar Castañeda, for example, about a harp specially constructed according to his requirements, or about his cooperation with the Czech singer Marta Töpferová. more
The Slunce [Sun] Festival in Strážnice will be held for the twentieth time this year. Especially lovers of folk music and classical big beat have marked the dates of 12th and 13th July in their calendars. We talked to the director of the Slunce Festival Pavel Kopřiva about the history of the festival, its top moments and hardships, as well as what this year's festival season will be like. more
The programme of this year's Concentus Moraviae festival presents an unprecedented cross-section of more than twenty Czech and foreign string quartets. The exceptional violinist, composer, professor of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK, and the long-time first violinist of the Škampa Quartet, Pavel Fischer, was asked by publicist Lukáš Pavlica to give an interview. more
This year’s eighteenth JazzFest Brno will exceptionally not close with a concert, but rather a unique (though not unusual for world festivals) series of musical and dance workshops, centred on children. On Saturday 4 May, in the pleasant environment of Café Práh, near Vaňkovka, the children students will be taken on board by the significant young personalities of the jazz scene: Beata Hlavenková (pianist and composition lecturer), Dano Šoltis (leader of the drum class) and the multi-instrumentalists Jiří Slavík and Marian Friedl (conductors of Wandering on Jazz Paths), who will be accompanied by Kateřina Hanzlíková with the Tancohraní lectures. With the exception of composition, where it is necessary for the participants to be older than twelve, all the other “classes” are open to everyone, including the youngest. We asked the co-author of the idea of the children’s workshop and director of JazzFest Brno, Vilém Spilka, for further information. more
Filip Míšek and Ema Brabcová have worked together for as many as twenty years already. They met each other back in 1999 in the group Roe-Deer, as part of which they created their own project called Khoiba. Under this name they released their albums Nice Traps (2004) and Mellow Drama (2007), shone on the domestic scene and drew attention to themselves in neighbouring Germany, but then each of the protagonists set out on their own paths – Filip came up with the solo project Dikolson and Ema was active first in the group Luno and later became part of The Antagonists under the leadership of Jan P. Muchow. Only in January 2019 did the resurrected Khoiba draw attention to itself – first with the single Log and two months later with the album Khoiba. As part of an intensive spring concert the duo is also coming to perform in Brno. The concert will take place in Kabinet múz on 24 April and supporting Khoiba will be Jan Boroš with Čáry života [Life Lines], this year’s winner of the Apollo award. more
The JAZZFESTBRNO Festival is expanding this year with the new Tension programme line, which will feature musicians on the borderline between jazz and electronic music. One of the performers who will appear on 28 March in the Praha space in Brno will be the Czech-Ukrainian duo Zabelov Group, which has recently released a new album called Eg. This interview with Roman Zabelov (accordion, voice, piano, organ, harp…) and Jan Šikl (drums, trumpet, guitar, percussion…) was done in a Prague café just before a rehearsal of the band.
Bára Zmeková is releasing her new album called LUNAVES these days. She will officially present it in Brno as well. The launch of the album will take place in the Kabinet múz on Tuesday 19 March. more
The Slovak group Kiero Grande, two Polish bands and the Brno musician Jan Fic with his solo project progressed from the competition Blues Aperitiv to the international festival Blues Alive in Šumperk. Jan, or Honza as he is informally called, who under the label Red Bird Instruments makes cigar box guitars and other instruments, is otherwise known as the frontman of The Weathermakers, playing their raw blues even at Porta. And in several festivals he appeared as leader of the mock country group The Honzíci. The interview that follows took place on the occasion of the release of the solo album Město (City), which Jan Fic together with the producer Martin Kyšperský officially presented on 17 December in Brno’s Stereo – Vinyl Culture Shop. more
The Cameroonian musician Richard Bona is returning to Brno after a year and a half. While last year the audience in the Janáček Theatre had their breath taken away by his Afro-Cuban project Heritage, this time he is coming with his international group Richard Bona Group. When on 25 November in the Sono Centre we are admiring Bono’s virtuoso guitar playing, it would be good to be aware while he may have inherited his sense of rhythm and general relationship to music from his ancestors, his current level is the result of his hard work. At least this was something he emphasised in our interview, in which we also covered Bono’s love of flamenco and for his club, which he recently opened not far from Paris. more
On Friday 19 October the big band Cotatcha Orchestra performed in HaDivadlo with an important foreign guest: the trombonist, composer and arranger Ilja Reijngoud. After the review of the concert we are now also bringing you an interview with this Dutch jazzman, holder of a Latin Grammy and other significant awards. Reijngoud answered our questions shortly before the Brno concert. more
This week in Prague and Brno the English singer Chris Norman, founding and long-time member of the popular band Smokie, will be performing. His concert in the Brno DRFG Arena will be on Saturday 6 October and he will perform at the Prague Forum Karlín two days earlier. more
The Jazz Groove Brno festival will take place in several venues in Brno from 2 October to 5 December 2018. With its director Josef Buchta we talk not just about this year’s programme but primarily about the new name and the new content of the event, which you can learn more about at groovebrno.cz. more
It is a pity to only read an interview with Marta Kovářová, leader of the groups Budoár staré dámy. Marta is such a personality as a speaker that it is better to hear her. Or also to watch her. But on the other hand, as you will learn from the interview, which took place on the occasion of the 20th birthday of the group, a good song should be able to stand up without a pictorial accompaniment. And perhaps a good narrative will still interest us in written form. more
Jonn Del Toro Richardson: As a guitarist I have to concentrate on myself and not on others
From 30 August to 10 September the blues guitarist from Texas Jonn Del Toro Richardson will be touring the Czech Republic. One of his performances will take place in South Moravia – 2 September in the Strážničan House of Culture in Strážnice. Further concerts will take place for example on 30 August in Valašské Meziříčí, and 7 and 10 September in Ostrava. Jonn Del Toro Richardson has so far released only one solo album (a second is in preparation for 2019), but as a much sought after studio and concert guitarist he has worked with many of the top blues performers. 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
