Charity Concert for Brno. Soňa Červená, Josef Špaček, Ivo Kahánek and others will perform

The Concert for Brno aims to support the construction of an organ for the new concert hall. It will be broadcast live on Czech Television and Czech Radio. The evening will feature violinist Josef Špaček, pianist Ivo Kahánek, the B-Side Band, and legendary opera singer Soňa Červená.

Brno does not currently have a modern and fully-fledged concert hall. Only half of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra can fit into the Besední dům. For these reasons, top artists also pass it by, as they cannot perform accompanied by a large orchestra. Brno is therefore planning to build a new concert hall that will become a worthy home for the Brno Philharmonic and a venue for cultural events. It will have a sufficient stage, a capacity of 1,250 seats, and an organ. The new hall is being designed by an international team with acoustician Yasuhisa Toyta of Nagata Acoustics, who has designed over sixty state-of-the-art halls around the world. "Our vision is to create a pleasant open music complex, where a place full of music will be created in the heart of Brno. The key for us is that it should live not only in the evening, but also during the day. We want to open up to people as much as possible," said Marie Kučerová, director of the Brno Philharmonic. The construction of the new hall will also be helped by the gala benefit Concert for Brno, which takes place at the Besední dům on Saturday 17 September at 8:15 pm. Proceeds from the concert, which will be broadcast live on Czech Television and Czech Radio, will go towards a new organ for the forthcoming concert hall. "The gala concert will tell the story of Brno as a cultural metropolis, where talents have always been born and various influences, styles and genres have met. This will be reflected in the dramaturgy, which will present the best of classical music," says Pavel Smutný, president of the Bohemian Heritage Fund, which is organising the concert together with the Leoš Janáček Foundation. Among the performers will be violinist Josef Špaček, pianist Ivo Kahánek and conductor Dennis Russell Davies, as well as legends of the Brno music scene such as bassist Richard Novák and singer and actress Soňa Červená, who began her opera career in Brno. Together they will present a selection of Czech music, mostly from the works of Leoš Janáček, but also Antonín Dvořák.

Concert programme:

LEOŠ JANÁČEK Sinfonietta (Fanfare)

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Mazurka for violin and orchestra in E minor, Op. 49

LEOŠ JANÁČEK Suite for strings (1st movement, Moderato)

JAN NOVÁK Gloria

BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ Petrklíč H 348

LEOŠ JANÁČEK Sonata for piano (2nd movement, Ballade)

LEOŠ JANÁČEK Moravian Folk Poetry (Love)

LEOŠ JANÁČEK String Quartet No. 1 based on Tolstoy’s short story

"Kreutzer Sonata" (1st movement, Adagio. Con moto), arrangement for violin and

cello

LEOŠ JANÁČEK Fairy Tale (3rd movement, Allegro)

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Poetic Moods, Op. 85 (Goblins’ Dance)

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Biblical Songs (No. 5, God! God! The New Song, No. 7, Rivers of Babylon)

JIŘÍ ČERVENÝ Song of Youth (on the text by Eduard Bass)

LEOŠ JANÁČEK Glagolitic Mass (Postlude), arrangement for two marimbas

JAROMÍR HNILIČKA Jazz Mass (selection)

Josef Špaček violin

Ivo Kahánek piano

Sonia Cervena vocal

Richard Novák vocal

Tomas Jamnik cello

Petr Nekoranec vocal

Alexander Klement piano

Karel Kosarek piano

Milan Paľa violin

Katarína Paľová piano

Martin Opršál, Martin Švec marimba

members of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra

conductor Dennis Russell Davies

Organ – Hall for Brno/ visualisation