The Brno Contemporary Orchestra (BCO) will be serving up a Culinary concert that will show that sounds can be as captivating as the most refined dishes. The event will take place in the dining room of the Masaryk Student Home in Brno and is subtitled "Dinner for Magdalena Dobromila Rettig". However, do not expect food on the table, but music - the main course will be the musical works of Ondřej Adámek.
"Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová wrote lots of excellent recipes and is also said to have taught lots of girls how to cook. I have never checked up, but I am sure she never copied any of the recipes. She was looking for uniqueness and originality and did not feel the need to imitate anyone. At our Culinary concert we will show that even when composing, we do not need to copy from someone else and it is well worth going your own way," explains Viktor Pantůček, the orchestra's dramaturge. The concert will take place on 2 February 2025 at 7:00 p.m. in the dining room of the Masaryk Student House.
The main work of the evening will be Le Dîner (The Dinner) by Czech composer Ondřej Adámek. This staged performance for twelve musicians, the painter Charlotte Guibé and a conductor will see a table transformed into a stage and everyday gestures into an artistic act. The musicians not only play but also interact with the space, creating a unique experience that blurs the boundaries between music, theatre, and visual art.
In the second part of the evening, the audience will get the chance to enjoy another of Adámek's unique works - a participatory performance called Happening: Musical and Rhythmic Cooking. The piece explores the connection between the processes of cooking and composing and was commissioned by the BCO. "Imagine just plain noodles for your soup, just mix up some flour and egg. There are hundreds of brands on the market and still the best ones are homemade or those served up by a great chef. Composers and chefs have a lot in common. They know how to blend tones to perfection." says Pantůček.
The concert will take place in a space that plays a significant role in itself - the dining hall of the Masaryk Student House, an iconic building designed by the functionalist architect Bohuslav Fuchs, born 130 years ago this year. The atmosphere of the place, designed as a communal dining space, underlines the theme of the evening, and adds to the uniqueness of the experience.
Magdalena Dobromila Rettig, whose birth and death anniversaries we are commemorating this year, would feel at home during this musical "cooking". Her famous quote "Learn diligently, for know that food prepared in various ways will be enjoyed with gusto" could be loosely adapted to "music composed in various ways is good for the taste buds." "One should not be prejudiced. Even something as ordinary as cooking can be captivating, especially when we can listen to it in a wonderful place, accompanied by such fantastic visuals," Pantůček concludes.
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