News
Otto Schenk is awarded an honorary doctorate by the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts
The Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno is awarding the Austrian actor and opera director Otto Schenk and honorary doctorate. The ceremonial assembly will take place in the Divadlo na Orlí aand will be part of this year’s celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts. more
JazzFestBrno 2018: Wynton Marsalis, Avishai Cohen, Brad Mehldau and Donny McCaslin
JazzFestBrno revealed the first four concerts from the programme for its 17th year. The Israeli bass player Avishai Cohen is returning to Brno with a new expanded group and an album “1970”. Then there will be the saxophonist Donny McCaslin, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with their bandmaster Wynton Marsalis and the American pianist Brad Mehldau. more
A Chamber Opera about Božena Němcová: Jsem kněžna bláznů
The Ensemble Opera Diversa has expanded its repertoire with an original work. The libretto of the opera Jsem kněžna bláznů (I am the Princess of Fools) was written by Olga Sommerová to music by Lenka Nota. The opera is conducted by Gabriela Tardonová. more
In May the metal group Insania brought out their album Na počátku byl spam In the Beginning was Spam). Their autumn tour for the new disc culminates in a concert at Brno’s Fléda club. There the group will christen their new album and will celebrate thirty years on the musical scene. Among the evening’s guests will be Jan Vozáry, Jan P. Muchow, Vladivojna La Chia and Tubabu. more
Update: Brno is now part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network
The city of Brno has just joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network - UCCN in the field of music. more
The Exposition of New Music is now entering its 30th year. The festival starts today
The Exposition of New Music, under programme director Viktor Pantůček, offers new approaches to music expression. This year’s opening concert will be by the British band AMM, who are proponents of absolute freedom in music interpretation. The 30th anniversary carries the subheading NOVÁ ®EVOLUCE. more
The Graffe Quartet Celebrates its 20th Birthday
The Graffe Quartet is 20 years old. The non-traditional music cycle VOX IMAGINIS, which combines chamber music, words and art opens with a concert entitled Brno Inspiration. There will be string quartets by Leoš Janáček, the poetry of Oldřich Mikulášek and Jan Skácel and the premiere of the string quartet Blízkost (Closeness) by Jiří Pavlica. more
The Jazz Brno Festival Celebrates 20 Years
The ongoing international music festival Jazz Brno 2017 is entering its jubilee 20th year. The programme will include a total of 21 concerts in the Stará Pekárna club. more
Bohuš Zoubek Has Died. Musician and Former Director of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra
Yesterday, 18 October 2017, Bohuš Zoubek died. more
On Saturday, 24 August, the Korean radio orchestra KBS Symphony Orchestra with its musical director - Finnish conductor and violinist Pietari Inkinen - came to Brno's Špilberk Festival with an exclusively romantic repertoire. The invitation was also accepted by South Korean violinist Bomsori Kim, a graduate of the prestigious Julliard School. more
For a quarter of a century now, the Brno Philharmonic has been organising the Špilberk Festival at the end of August in the courtyard of the castle of the same name. Four open-air musical evenings offer the audience a selection of concerts featuring classical, film and computer music, as well as often jazz and other genres. This makes it a diverse mix of performers and repertoires with an often pleasant, summery, laid-back ambience. This year's big and rapdily sold-out attraction was the Wednesday evening of 21 August, full of melodies from the James Bond films, performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, headed by world-renowned conductor, composer and arranger Steven Mercurio. During the concert, the audience also got to enjoy singers Sara Milfajtová, Vendula Příhodová and David Kraus. more
As part of its European tour, the Taiwanese Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir (TPCC), under the direction of artistic director and choirmaster Dr. YuChung Johnny Ku, took the city up on its invitation and visited Brno. The concert was held on Monday, 13th August in the hall of the newly renovated Passage Hotel. more
The final concert of this year's season of the Brno Philharmonic was devoted to works by Antonín Dvořák and Jean Sibelius at the Janáček Theatre. On Thursday, 20 June, Danish conductor Michael Schønwandt, who had not appeared before a Brno audience since January last year, took the lead of the Philharmonic. In the first half of the programme, the orchestra was accompanied by violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky. more
In the spirit of the idea that Brno and folklore belong together, the Folklore Ensemble Happening of the Year took place on Thursday 6 June. The event was organised by the Brno UNESCO City of Music Office in cooperation with the Brno Dances and Sings association. The event thus became part of a long-term project that set out to map the amateur music scene in Brno, and not only folk music. Last year Brno City of Music reached out to choirs in a similar way, and in the future will host garage bands and more. This just goes to prove the diversity of Brno's music scene, not only as regards professional ensembles, but also enthusiastic amateurs for whom music is an inseparable part of their lives. more
