Omar Sosa is the artist in residence of this year’s Brno Music Marathon

22 March 2023, 14:00
Omar Sosa is the artist in residence of this year’s Brno Music Marathon

The Brno Marathon of Music 2023 festival presented the first part of its programme today. In August, Omar Sosa as the festival’s resident pianist, the band Dubioza Kolektiv, and the Estonian duo Puuluup will perform in Brno.

The Brno Music Marathon is a key musical event of the city of Brno as part of its membership in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of music. One of the reasons for the city’s inclusion in this prestigious network was the exceptionally varied and high-quality Brno music offer, which the festival also purposefully presents. This year’s artist-in-residence will be the world-famous pianist Omar Sosa. Some of the music venues will move to new locations. Tickets are available now through the GoOut network. Omar Sosa, a jazz pianist from Cuba, will visit Brno and offer three unique performances in his Czech premiere.

During the first concert, Sosa will present his jazz quartet AfroCubano, which will collaborate with Brno musicians especially for the Brno Music Marathon. In the second programme he will be accompanied by Bosnian multi-instrumentalist and beatboxer Stracho Temelkovski. On the last day of his festival residency, the audience will hear a solo piano recital that he rarely plays.

This year, the World Music Scene will also present the unforgettable Estonian duo Puuluup, two punks in suits playing music for serious hipsters, tired punks, and lovers of traditional music who have no idea what lyra hiiu kannel is.

As part of the popular Balkan Night, we return from the piazzetta in front of the Janáček Theatre to the beautiful courtyard of Špilberk Castle, where the main star of the evening will be the legendary and energetic Bosnian band Dubioza Kolektiv.

The Humour in Music stage will offer a concert by singer-songwriter Pavel Helan and the musical return of soprano Patricia Janečková, who will perform with pianist and composer Zdeněk Král in the remarkable Cabaret des Péchés.

The popular jazz scene will also change its location, moving from the courtyard of the Governor’s Palace to the courtyard of Brno City Hall. The scene will feature Czech drummer and composer Tomáš Hobzek. Júlia Karosi, one of Hungary's best jazz singers, will come with her original repertoire. A mixture of blues and rock will be presented by the South African singer, guitarist, and composer Gerald Clark with his Gerald Clark Band.

This year, the streets of Brno will also be full of unique design rooms by the renowned Czech artist Kateřina Šedá. These beautiful rooms will be transformed into small concert spaces for street artists. Each year one of them will be renewed, and its design will respond to anniversaries or important themes of the year. What room has Kateřina Šedá prepared for this year? Find out on 18 May during the traditional festival happening, during which the full festival programme will be presented.

Visitors can also look forward to a two-day programme by the Indies publishing house, as well as a rock, musical or folklore scene, the popular Pianostaffet, the Endless Organ, a matinee by Barbara Marie Willi, and a number of extraordinary talents from the ZUŠ OPEN project and much more.

Omar Sosa/ photo by Ron Jones

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