Bohuslav Martinů Days – Prologue

Bohuslav Martinů was a Moravian composer whose life and work naturally spanned across his Czech homeland, Europe, and America. He was one of the few Czech creators to achieve prominence on a global scale. Paradoxically, due to the Nazi occupation and the subsequent Communist regime, his works were for a long time suppressed in his homeland. Geopolitical developments made it impossible for him to return. From his departure in 1938, he never saw his native country again.

Through the prologue of »Bohuslav Martinů Days« festival, the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation joins forces with three other prominent Czech institutions – the Association of Concert Artists, the Music and Dance Faculty of AMU, and the Prague Conservatory – as well as the Hamburg University of Music and Drama in Germany. As part of a concert celebrating the collaboration between these institutions, Martinů symbolically invites his younger colleagues to the stage: composers Gideon Klein and Pavel Haas, who unfortunately did not survive the cruelty of the Nazi occupation and perished in concentration camps.

This concert brings together not only institutions and destinies but also a wide generational spectrum. Alongside renowned performers, young artists on the threshold of their brilliant careers will be introduced. Among them is Jan Novák, namesake of another famous Czech composer, who became a laureate of the Prague Spring International Music Competition at the age of seventeen.

PERFORMERS

Matouš Zukal piano

Niklas Liepe violin

Jan Novák violin

Amber Pan viola

Petr Nouzovský violoncello

Irvin Venyš clarinet

Christian Kunert bassoon

Tim Kadlec flute

Jan Souček oboe

Jospeh Longstaff french horn

Hyeounjun Lee trumpet

PROGRAM

Bohuslav Martinů
Duo for Violin and Violoncello No. 1, H 157

Gideon Klein
Trio for Violin, Viola and Violoncello, WV 23

Pavel Haas
Wind Quintet, Op. 10

- Interval -

Bohuslav Martinů
Eight preludes for piano H 181

Bohuslav Martinů
Les Rondes, H 200