Interviews
When I polled Czech jazz musicians to find the most significant woman on the domestic scene, the largest number of votes went to the trumpet player, composer and conductor Štěpánka Balcarová and the pianist and composer Beata Hlavenková. In the JazzFest Brno festival both will be performing. The Concept Art Orchestra big band under Štěpánka Balcarová will be performing on Wednesday 5 April in the Theatre Husa na provázku and a day later the trumpet player will be playing in HaDivadlo with her Czech-Polish group Inner Spaces. On Thursday 13 April in Besední dům the will be a concert of Beata Hlavenková, focussing on her most recent album Scintilla. We conducted interviews with both young ladies. more
The singer Lenka Nová was born in Brno. Even now she frequently and happily returns. Last autumn she released her third profile disk, Čtyřicítka (Forty), on which there are ten personal songs with texts by Michal Horáček. She was recently nominated for the Anděl music prize in the category Singer of the Year. This year with a newly rehearsed repertoire on March 8 and 9 in the bar U kouřícího králíka in her home town she opened her Čtyřicítka Tour, the spring part of which will be concluded with a Prague concert in the DVA studio on May 21. And we spoke about all of this … more
Soprano Maida Hundeling, who debuted, for example, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York last season, returned to the Janáček Opera after a year. The singer known from leading opera houses around the world will perform in Brno again in the role of Tosca in Puccini's opera of the same name. The production of the local artistic director Jiří Heřman already impressed during its premiere. The director based his concept on the connection between the story of the singer Tosca in the environment of the complicated political situation in the Roman Republic in 1800 and the story of one of its extraordinary performers in the second half of the last century – opera superstar Maria Callas. As the critics wrote, it is a theatrically impressive and inspiring interconnection between the fates of the two women, adored opera divas, who were in love in politically complicated times that swallowed them whole. Mainly Maida Hundeling excelled in the main roles of this Brno production. more
The Vilém Spilka Quartet included surprising material in their new album Podvod. The band, headed by the director and dramaturgist of the JazzFest Brno Festival, recorded instrumental jazz arrangements of songs Hejna včel, Tulácký ráno, Na kameni kámen, Stánky and other campfire hit songs by Jan Nedvěd. He had a chance to listen to the recording shortly after its completion and we spoke to Vilém Spilka about Nedvěd’s reaction. And the interview, of course, also covered Porta, sausages and a campfire pot. more
We talked with Jitka Šuranská about a new album full of music, where she is the bandleader, but as she points out herself, she is only one of three equal elements. The Jitka Šuranská Trio consists of her, cross-genre mandolinist Martin Krajíček and multi-instrumentalist (educated jazz bassist) Marian Friedl. The three musicians started the debut tour of the first album Divé husy symbolically on 1 October at the Goose Festival in Boskovice, two day later they launched it in the Stará Pekárna Club in Brno. Until mid-October, they will be touring clubs, cinemas and libraries in Náchod, Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, Zlín and České Budějovice. Although the trio mentions folk songs as their inspiration, their author's coat is made of many musical styles, yet it is harmonious and interesting. And Jitka's own musician's path is important and inspirational for the final outcome. more
The Swedish mezzo-soprano Katarina Karnéus is hosting in Radok's opera staging of Bluebeard's Castle / Expectation where she plays the role of the Woman. Katarina Karnéus is the winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and debuted at the New York Metropolitan Opera as Varvara in Janáček's Katya Kabanova. This season, she performs in the Stuttgart Staatstheatre, Theater Basel and in the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus. The premiere of the Bluebeard's Castle / Expectation is part of the programme of the 2016 Janáček Brno Festival. more
Canadian director Robert Carsen is among today's elite directors in the world of opera. His productions have been in the repertoire of major opera houses, such as the La Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in England or the Royal Opera House Covent Garden for many years. His work is often referred to as the so-called regietheater because he usually stages operas at times and places different from the original score. Yet his productions excel in unique poetics, dramaturgical compactness and mainly in the fact that they are an emotional, lively and extremely impressive theatre. The 2016 Janáček Brno Festival will open with one of the most famous productions by Carsen, Janáček's Katya Kabanova. It will be performed by the ensemble of the Janáček Opera of the Brno National Theatre. The Brno theatre will be the first ensemble in the Czech Republic that has a production by Robert Carsen in their permanent repertoire. more
A long Czech tour of the English blues guitarist Will Johns was taking place nearly all throughout September. A nephew of Eric Clapton and George Harrison and a son of famed producer Andy Johns (he worked with Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones) began touring in the early 1990s. His latest album is called Something Old, Something New... and Will Johns will also present it in Brno. His concert in the Stará Pekárna Music Club will take place on Tuesday, 13 September from 8:00 p.m. This interview with the guitarist was conducted by phone. more
Dulcimer player from the Javory Band, bandleader and founder of the folk Cimbal Classic and music educator Dalibor Štrunc released his new record Malované na cimbál. Štrunc's instrumental songs on this album are played by his students from the Conservatory Anna Múčková, Kateřina Harnošová, and Barbora Jagošová. We talked to the dulcimer player and songwriter, who has just turned 50, about this piece of work and more. more
Last year, soprano Martina Janková, baritone Tomáš Král and pianist Ivo Kahánek recorded an album of folk songs edited by Leoš Janáček. Visitors of the 2016 Janáček Brno Festival will also have the opportunity to experience its live performance. The only change is that Roman Hoza will perform instead of Tomáš Král at the concert in the Villa Tugendhat. Martina Janková talked about her journey from childhood with folk music to Janáček. more
Songwriter and guitarist František Chaloupka switches between rock, contemporary and classical music and other genres. Besides that, he founded the Guitar Institute in 2014. We talked about guitar instruction tailored to students. And about the directions in which the Institute could develop further. more
How does the Mozart effect work? Why does Mozart's music reduce epileptic discharges in the brain, while Haydn's does not? How do the brains of the audience without musical training and professional musicians perceive music? We were looking for answers with the head of the Centre for Neuroscience of the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Professor Ivan Rektor. more
25-year-old guitarist Jannis Moras is a rising star on the Brno scene. The songwriter with Greek roots works with his father Trifon Moras and his two brothers in the I Parea band. With the Anatoli band that plays traditional Greek music, he recently won the South Moravian round of the Porta competition. And he has his own original project Jannis Moras a band(a) that will perform on 4 June as part of the Greek Saturday at the Veveří Castle. We talk to Jannis Moras about music that he plays and about the Greek community in Brno. more
Inconspicuous concerts in high-pitched frequencies go through the city. Their centre is an area called Rumiště, the producer and DJ Snediggen Snurssla stands behind them. This week, his AVA loft sessions are being held for the fifteenth time and they will head from Rumiště to Mosilana. Furthermore, we talked about adventurous music and listening to the city. more
The Brno Contemporary Orchestra was founded five years ago by conductor Pavel Šnajdr. Music by contemporary composers is nothing unusual to him, he considers it an everyday matter of course. And that is how he wants to bring it closer to the audience. The upcoming concert in Hall A at the Brno Exhibition Centre was one of the reasons for this interview about the creation of the orchestra and their plans. And about contemporary music in general. 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
The opera King Roger by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski had its Czech première at the Janáček Theatre. The title character was played by Jiří Brückler, the king's consort Roxana was portrayed by Veronika Rovná, Roger's right hand man, the sage Edrisi, was played by Vít Nosek, while Petr Nekoranec appeared as the Shepherd and the main source of Roger's trouble. The role of the High Priest was performed by David Szendiuch; Jana Hrochová appeared as the Deaconess and the soprano and tenor solos were performed by Eva Daňhelová and Pavel Valenta. In addition to the soloists, the Janáček Opera NdB Choir and Orchestra conducted by Martin Buchta and the Brno Children's Choir with choirmaster Valeria Mat'ašová also performed. It was directed by Vladimír John, with set design by Martin Chocholoušek and costumes by Barbora Rašková. The lighting design was by Martin Kroupa and the choreography by Jan Kodet and Michal Heriban. Robert Kružík, who also directed the première performance, took over the musical direction. more
Editorial
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
Filharmonie Brno cancels tonight’s concert: María Grand & Maya Keren
The concert organised by Filharmonie Brno has been cancelled as one of the soloists is ill. A replacement date is being arranged. more
The National Theatre Brno launches an online exhibition: In the Role of Kostelnička
The National Theatre Brno invites audiences to explore its online exhibition IN THE ROLE OF KOSTELNIČKA, tracing 120 years of Brno interpretations of one of the most renowned operatic roles. more
BCO's Šestinozí bohatýři - Six-Legged Warriors: Two world premieres and two Czech premieres in Židenice
The theatre hall of Dělnický dům (Workers’ House) in the Brno district of Židenice has, for more than a century, been a place where the worlds of people and beetles meet. Concerts and theatre performances alternate here with entomological fairs and gatherings of lovers of beetles, butterflies, bees and other insects. It is for this reason that the Brno Contemporary Orchestra will present the concert Šestinozí bohatýři (“Six-Legged Warriors”), offering a meeting point between the structured, pragmatic sound world of insects and the chaos, freedom and democratic spirit of human music. The concert will feature two world premieres, two Czech premieres, and one revival of a work originally written for the BCO in 2018. more
Jiří Stivín Behind the Camera – the new book Systém Stivín captures Czechoslovakia in the second half of the 20th century
A unique probe into musical history, a glimpse into the author’s private life, a visual chronicle of Czechoslovakia in the latter half of the twentieth century, a testament to the ever-changing photographic style of the age... The new book Systém Stivín, just published, is all of this. Above all, however, the book proves that Jiří Stivín is a master not only of every conceivable wind instrument, but also of the camera and the craft of photography. This extensive volume contains nearly three hundred images taken by the musician from the 1950s to the present. Editors Jiří Pátek and Roman Franc selected them from more than 50,000 negatives in Stivín’s vast archive. Alongside family snapshots depicting children, wives and parents, the book includes black-and-white images from the "golden sixties," offering valuable testimony to the atmosphere of the era in which Czech popular culture was being born. more
Topol: Echoes of Birds. New ProART premiere
A dance–theatre hommage to bygone times and their masters – Josef Topol, Vlastimil Harapes, Jan Kačer, Marie Tomášová and Jan Tříska. The Brno premiere of the new ProART project will take place at the Löw-Beer Villa. more
News: Petr Štědroň Appointed New Director of the National Theatre Brno
Brno City Council has appointed Petr Štědroň the new Director of the National Theatre Brno. He will take up his post on 1 August 2028, succeeding the current director Martin Glaser, who will step down on 31 July 2028 and move to lead the National Theatre in Prague. more
