Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno will celebrate Petr Fiala’s 80th birthday with a concert

23 March 2023, 1:00
Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno will celebrate Petr Fiala’s 80th birthday with a concert

Petr Fiala, founder, choirmaster, and director of the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno, will celebrate his jubilee. Fiala’s Stabat Mater will also be performed during the festive concert, which will take place in the Besední dům. The concert will be conducted by conductor Robert Kružík.

The Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno is a leader in the field of choral art in the Czech and international scene. Since its foundation in 1990, the choir has performed at all prestigious European festivals and has always managed to captivate the audience with its high professionalism and exceptional musical sensitivity. Its founder, choirmaster, and director is Petr Fiala, who will celebrate his 80th birthday. The musical programme of the gala concert includes Johannes Brahms’ Song of Destiny, Petr Fiala’s Stabat Mater, and Antonín Dvořák’s Te Deum. These musical works will be performed by the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno together with choirmaster Petr Fiala, the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra, and Kristina Fialová, Jan Sibera and Lukáš Bařák as soloists. The concert is conducted by conductor Robert Kružík. The concert is scheduled for Sunday 26 March 2023 at 19:00 at the Besední dům.

Petr Fiala (*1943) graduated from the Brno Conservatory (piano, composition, conducting) and in 1971 graduated from the JAMU in the class of Prof. Jan Kapr. As a composer he was influenced by the works of A. Honneger, B. Bartók, S. Prokofiev, B. Martinů, and L. Janáček. After graduating from JAMU, he joined the ranks of composers striving to synthesize new techniques (especially sound-coloured ones) with the best traditions of 20th century classical composers. Thanks to his sensitive fusion of tradition and the present, his compositions have found appreciative performers and a wide audience. His works include a number of vocal and instrumental cycles for children and young people, a number of solo pieces (for piano, accordion, guitar, violin, cello, trumpet, trombone, etc.), five string quartets, a number of chamber works, concertos for organ, piano, accordion, viola, and orchestra, three symphonies, a number of choral cycles, song cycles, oratorios, and cantatas, and two works of music drama: the ballet The Burning Stone and a full-length opera based on František Hrubín’s play Beauty and the Beast. In addition to his pedagogical (he was a professor at the Brno Conservatory) and compositional activities (he is the author of about 180 compositions), he has been intensively engaged in choral conducting and conducting for 50 years. As a composer and conductor, Petr Fiala is a laureate of numerous national and international competitions, a lecturer at conducting courses, and a member of international juries. He is invited as a guest conductor to our and foreign orchestras and choirs to perform vocal-instrumental works. He is a renowned personality in the field of composition and performance. He is distinguished by his sense for the construction of large surfaces and their internal contrast. In 1990, he founded the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno, which under his leadership has risen to become one of Europe's best choral ensembles. In 2009, he received the Order of Cyril and Methodius from the Czech Bishops’ Conference for his outstanding achievements in conducting and composing, which is closely linked to contemporary sacred music and cantatas in honour of Czech national patrons. In 2013, Petr Fiala received the Brno City Prize in Music for his many years of artistic activity and representation of the city of Brno. In 2016, Petr Fiala received the South Moravian Region Award for significant representation of the South Moravian Region in the field of culture.

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