Archive

PKF - Prague Philharmonia / Austria yesterday and today: Schönberg – Berg – Neuwirth – Staud

<p><strong>This year&rsquo;s series of six Cycle S concerts draws to a close in Austria.</strong></p> <p>We present the extensive range of music from the Austrian school of composition through the works of&nbsp;Arnold Sch&ouml;nberg,&nbsp;Alban Berg&nbsp;(Sch&ouml;nberg&rsquo;s pupil),&nbsp;Olga Neuwirth&nbsp;(the first female composer to be commissioned by the Vienna State Opera) and&nbsp;Johannes Maria Staud&nbsp;(whose compositions have been premiered by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, and by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Daniel Barenboim).</p>

PKF - Prague Philharmonia / Francie: Pierre Boulez – Olivier Messiaen

<p><strong>Pierre Boulez</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; French composer, a dominant figure in postwar classical music, the recipient of numerous awards including the Polar Music Prize (1996): &ldquo;...&nbsp;<em>His profound musicality, clear music intelligence and unusual farsightedness have enabled him to act in a wider field than the great majority.&nbsp;</em><em>Thus</em><em>&nbsp;he has occupied the forefront as composer, interpreter/conductor and eminent theorist, and he has made unique contributions as a debater and source of ideas.&rdquo;</em></p> <p><strong>Olivier Messiaen&nbsp;</strong>&ndash; French composer, musicologist, organist, pianist and ornithologist, teacher of Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Iannis Xenakis. A pioneer of serialism and composer with an unusually refined style in terms of tonality and harmony. His important&nbsp;Quartet for the End of Time,&nbsp;composed in 1941 in a prison camp in Silesian Zhořelec, is being performed as part of the 30th anniversary of the composer&rsquo;s death.</p>

PKF - Prague Philharmonia / Lotyšsko, Estonsko, Finsko: Vasks – Pärt – Saariaho

<p>Three musicians representing the contemporary generation of composers in Estonia, Latvia and Finland:</p> <p><strong>Kaija&nbsp;Saariaho</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; recipient of an American Grammy Award for best opera, L&rsquo;amour de loin (2011), recipient of the Polar Music Prize (2013), voted the world&rsquo;s greatest living composer in a BBC survey in 2019.</p> <p><strong>Peteris Vasks&nbsp;</strong>&ndash; leading Latvian composer, recipient of numerous awards, an honorary member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences (1994), main composer at the Stockholm New Music Festival (1996), a member of the Royal Swedish Music Academy (2001).</p> <p><strong>Arvo P&auml;rt&nbsp;</strong>&ndash; leading Estonian composer, one of the most frequently played contemporary composers in the world, in 2020 he was awarded the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award for his contribution to culture.</p>

PKF - Prague Philharmonia / Germany yesterday and today: Stockhausen – Henze – Widmann

<p>Hans Werner Henze&nbsp;and&nbsp;Karlheinz&nbsp;Stockausen&nbsp;are two central figures of 20th century German music and their compositions bookend this evening&rsquo;s music programme. However, the focus will be on the eminent German clarinettist and contemporary composer &ndash;&nbsp;J&ouml;rg Widmann, who performed with the PKF &ndash; Prague Philharmonia as a soloist clarinettist at a concert during the Prague Spring International Music Festival 2021. Today&rsquo;s concert presents J&ouml;rg Widmann as Germany&rsquo;s leading contemporary composer whose works are brought out by erudite publishers and performed by soloists and ensembles across the world.</p>

PKF - Prague Philharmonia / Musica viva Pragensis: birthday celebrations for Marek Kopelent and Petr Kotík

<p>This concert presents the chamber music of&nbsp;<strong>Marek&nbsp;Kopelent&nbsp;</strong>and&nbsp;<strong>Petr&nbsp;Kot&iacute;k</strong>, two composers whose names are closely associated with the new music group&nbsp;Musica&nbsp;Viva Pragensis, which was established at the Prague Conservatory around 1961, bringing together enthusiastic young composition students.</p> <p>This year the two composers celebrate significant anniversaries, which is why this evening will be a celebratory one!</p>

PKF - Prague Philharmonia / Marián Lejava — dirigent nebo skladatel?

<p>An alternate date for the concert, which was supposed to take place in February 2021, but due to the coronavirus pandemic we had to postpone it.</p> <p><strong>Mari&aacute;n Lejava (1976)</strong></p> <p>The leading contemporary Slovak conductor and composer&nbsp;Mari&aacute;n Lejava&nbsp;(1976) is a regular guest at the Slovak National Theatre and with the Slovak Philharmonic, and is known mainly in the Czech Republic as a conductor. Today&rsquo;s &lsquo;portrait&rsquo;, however, presents him principally in his second and perhaps even more important role as a composer and dramaturg with a limitless imagination. The concert features two of his world premieres and one Czech premiere. The concert&rsquo;s special guest will be the&nbsp;Slovak violinist&nbsp;Milan&nbsp;Pal&rsquo;a.</p>

PKF - Prague Philharmonia / USA: John Cage – Elliott Carter

<p>The Cycle S 2022/2023 concert season opens in the USA:</p> <p><strong>John Cage&nbsp;</strong>&ndash; a proponent of aleatoric experimental music and lover of art and mycology.<br /> <strong>Elliott Carter&nbsp;</strong>&ndash; graduated in music and English from Harvard University, the focal point of his art was atonal music and his compositions are among some of the most demanding for listeners. He was twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music and won a Grammy Award in 1993.</p> <p>We will introduce the chamber music of Cage and Carter using four compositions from various creative periods of the two composers with substantial time gaps. John Cage wrote Three Pieces for Flute Duet when he was 23, Elliott Carter composed his Oboe Quartet &ndash; for Oboe and String Trio when he was 93.</p>

PKF - Prague Philharmonia / Polish modern school: Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Górecki

<p><u><strong>Programme</strong></u></p> <p><strong>Henryk G&oacute;recki</strong><br /> <em>For you, Anne-Lill for Flute and Piano Op. 58 (1956)</em></p> <p><strong>Krzysztof Penderecki</strong><br /> <em>Der unterbrochene Gedanke for String Quartet (1988)</em></p> <p><strong>Henryk G&oacute;recki</strong><br /> <em>Clarinet Quintet: Piece for Clarinet and String Quartet Op. 71 (1996)</em></p> <p><strong>Krzysztof Penderecki</strong><br /> <em>Sextet for Violin, Viola, Cello, Piano, Clarinet and French Horn (2000)</em></p>

let-it-flow / Konvergence

JADE BIRD (UK) / support: Ferris & Sylvester (UK)

<p>Jade Bird is becoming one of the most exciting new British voices. With her debut EP &quot;Something American&quot; and 2018&rsquo;s follow-up breakthrough single &quot;Lottery&quot;, Jade has won the hearts of people across the globe with her expressive voice, strong melodies and with the ability to introduce americana folk rock to the European audience. A 21-year-old UK artist was included in Rolling Stone and BBC&rsquo;s (Sound of 2018) lists of artists you need to know. She confirmed her position as one of the most talented female artists with her eponymous debut album, which was released in April and was given 80% by NME and Clash magazines.</p>

WOWs | JULIA HOLTER (USA)

<p>The next concert of WOWs series will welcome an American singer and songwriter Julia Holter. At the heart of her pristine chamber pop there exist wisdom and a&nbsp;profound poise. Like a&nbsp;deep breath on a&nbsp;subway car, or a&nbsp;private meditation amid a&nbsp;bustling city street, her songs exude an elegant calm, but they do&nbsp;not often stay still. It&rsquo;s not a&nbsp;surprise that she&rsquo;s collaborated even with Jean-Michel Jarre on a&nbsp;song. Having created eight studio albums and two live ones, Julia&rsquo;s passion for art and culture is shown in many actions. In November 2016, she curated her own program during the tenth anniversary edition of&nbsp;Le Guess Who?&nbsp;Festival in Utrecht and the next year, she performed a&nbsp;world premiere of her scoring of the 1928 silent French film&nbsp;The Passion of Joan of Arc.</p>

ZABELOV GROUP / Křest alba EG

<p>The wide-ranging concept of jazz, its fascination with rhythmic sequences and abstract vocals, experimenting and the constant need to search for new sounds, as well as the blending of cultures, is the basis of Zabelov Group&rsquo;s approach to music and its presentation.<br /> <br /> Duo Jan &Scaron;ikl and Roman Zabelov have been on the scene together since 2012. The Czech composer and multi-instrumentalist, &Scaron;ikl, graduated from the Prague Conservatory. In addition to playing drums and trumpet in Zabelov Group and the band, Korjen, he writes music for the National Theater, the Czech Radio, the Spitfire Company, and frequently cooperates with the Orchestra Berg.</p>

GAIKA (UK)

<p><strong>Gaika has proven he is a&nbsp;creative force to be reckoned with, breaking ground sonically and aesthetically. Blending dancehall, grime and electronica, and with his live shows providing a&nbsp;visual experience like no other, his show on the 30th of October is not one to be missed. Now he presents his debut album, BASIC VOLUME, after captivating listeners with a&nbsp;blistering pair of acclaimed,self-released mixtapes Machine and Security and Warp-released EPs SPAGHETTO and The Spectacular Empire. Besides his audio-visual shows he presents his opinions and ideas in writing and sculptures too, not being afraid of criticising the system, police or government. His show at NoD will certainly give you some food for thought.</strong></p>

Alex Clare (UK): Acoustic Tour / support: Lukas Landa

<p>BRIT Award-nominated UK-born and Jerusalem-based multiplatinum singer and songwriter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/alexclaremusic/" style="color: rgb(54, 88, 153); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">Alex Clare</a>&nbsp;is bringing his upcoming record to Prague&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/nodprague/" style="color: rgb(54, 88, 153); cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">NoD</a>. Collecting favorites from his three previous studio albums and a cover of Bill Withers&rsquo; Hope She&rsquo;ll Be Happier, his first-ever acoustic album Three Days At Greenmount sees him get back to basics, while roaring louder than ever.<br /> &nbsp;</p>

FLYING HORSEMAN (BE)

<p><strong>Their music will embrace you but can not be easily captured in words. Appreciated by a&nbsp;majority of Belgian music critiques, Flying Horseman will come to Prague for the first time! The sextet around songwriter Bert Dockx surrounds you with bitter post-rock and nocturnal folk. Imagine a&nbsp;midnight walk through a&nbsp;dark forest. It can be ominous yet unbearably serene. Through the years, the Antwerp based band have developed a&nbsp;rich, organic sound that is theirs only.&nbsp;<em>Rooms / Ruins</em>, their fifth album, is a&nbsp;capricious, vibrant and strange affair that will send you inwards before catapulting you into space. If you fancy something similar to the sound of Nick Cave, save the date: 21. November, 19:00 at NoD!</strong></p>

KELLY LEE OWENS (UK)

<p>A series of concerts WOWs &ndash; Wonderwomen Save You will make its return to NoD with Kelly Lee Owens among others this autumn. The 28 year old musician will perform bits from her self-titled debut album she has made overflowing with experiments in electronic music that oscillate between cavernous techno, dreamy pop and krautrock rhythms. Despite her brief career, you most likely have already heard her voice and contributions on Daniel Avery&rsquo;s album&nbsp;<em>Drone Logic</em>&nbsp;that was released in 2013. Besides that, she&rsquo;s worked with names like St. Vincent or Jenny Hval. And that is just a&nbsp;beginning. Kelly Lee Owens will make her Czech debut on 6/11 at NoD. Tickets will be available from 26/7 via GoOut for 320 czk.</p>

Concert: The Light in the Voice

<p>A unique musical fusion, Chinese, mongolian jazz.</p> <p>Start at 19:00.&nbsp;</p>

LILLY AMONG CLOUDS (GER)

<p>Her voice will bring melancholy without sadness. Lilly Among Clouds creates majestic songs full of beauty and harmony that will embrace you with an intimate pop feeling. She has been very prolific during her brief career that started just in 2015 with a&nbsp;self-titled EP. Last year, this 28-year-old German songwriter followed it with a&nbsp;proper album called Aerial Perspective. There she created a&nbsp;warm &amp; deep space out of vibrant beats, compelling sounds and atmospheric guitars always allowing her voice to shine. &nbsp;&nbsp;After a&nbsp;successful gig a&nbsp;Colours of Ostrava, she&rsquo;s coming back to Czechia and will enlighten you with her dreamy pop sound on 10/10 at NoD. Tickets will be available from 31/7 via GoOut for 300 czk.</p>

Julien Baker / support: Becca Mancari

<p>Singer-songwriter from Memphis Julien Baker is coming to Prague for the first time. Her tender voice will resonate through&nbsp;NoD on September 14th 2018. A&nbsp;country singer Becca Mancari to open the evening.&nbsp;</p> <p>Twenty&nbsp;two year&nbsp;old singer and guitarist Julien Baker started making music at the university with her band&nbsp;Forrister. She started playing solo in 2015 when releasing her debut album&nbsp;<em>Sprained Ankle</em>. It was a&nbsp;collection of humbly rendered&nbsp;folk&nbsp;songs, dealing with the topics of depression, substance abuse and also a crisis of faith, since Baker claims to be Christian. During her short career, she opened for bands and musicians like Death Cab For Cutie, Conor Obers or Belle &amp; Sebastian. In 2017, she got signed&nbsp;by Matador Records (Cat Power, Interpol, Pavement, Yo La Tengo) and released her second album&nbsp;<em>Turn Out The Lights</em>. The album is&nbsp;more expansive in sound and vision but&nbsp;the real draw is Baker&#39;s&nbsp;songwriting and lyricism.&nbsp;The result finds Baker narrating a deliberate meditation on how we each try to deal with our ever-shifting mental health, and the impact this can have on both ourselves and others. The album sets out to address how the process of coping with internal conflicts affects different relationships &ndash; romantic, familial, and friendly. Baker turns outward to embrace the challenges of the human experience, weaving personal struggles together into one surprisingly hopeful chorus.&nbsp;</p>

WOWs - OSHUN (USA) // support: The High Corporation @NoD

<p>Every woman is a neverending source of inspiration. If you lack women in music or generally in your life, we&rsquo;ve got a solution for you. Let us introduce to you a brand new concept of series of concerts dedicated to the promising females of the contemporary music scene no matter which genre. The first concert will take place on the 10th of May. NoD will welcome OSHUN, an afrofuturistic duo from New York. You will hear a fusion of hip hop, neo soul and African beats; acoustic instruments combined with the digital. OSHUN will connect with the spirit of their ancestors to manifest a sweeter tomorrow for us all.</p> <p><strong>Support: The High Corporation.</strong> The coalition of an ill beat confessor, classical guitarist, daughter of a preacher man and a disciple of low frequencies paints a new issues of the real music experience. Eager to find wide shades of sounds and urged to express their deepest musical imagination. Progress is their initiation. Mashing and bashing it all together to be connected with the audience.</p>

VEES // release No Way Back + support & special guests

PKF Prague Philharmonia: Krása dneška / Zdenek Merta: Jakou moc má text

FREE MONDAYS | The MICRONAUT (GER, 3000°) / support: TMA (CZ)

PhilHarmonia Octet: album release

<p><strong>PhilHarmonia Octet celebrating 10 years together with new CD!</strong></p> <p>The present album marks the 10th anniversary of the PhilHarmonia Octet. The ensemble is made up of superlative soloists, laureates of major international competitions, and members of globally renowned orchestras (the Berliner Philharmoniker, WDR K&ouml;ln, Czech Philharmonic, etc.). The recording features works by both Czech and foreign composers &ndash;</p> <p><em>G. Klein, L.v. Beethoven</em> and <em>W. A. Mozart.</em> The album <em>&bdquo;Music for Wind Instruments&ldquo;</em> presents three totally different facets of the wind octet, encompassing music that spans almost two centuries, as performed by a brilliant ensemble.&nbsp;</p> <p>Album on Supraphon: <a href="http://www.supraphon.com/album/289173-mozart-beethoven-klein-music-for-wind-instruments"><strong>HERE</strong></a>.</p>

UFAJR & Kaplan Bros - album release

CHROME SPARKS Live (USA) @ NoD

<p>Chrome Sparks is the solo project of Jeremy Malvin, a Brooklyn transplant from Pittsburgh by way of Ann Arbor. In 2014 Malvin signed to the taste making Sydney based label Future Classic. Inspired by a background in classical percussion and an obsession with synthesizers, Malvin creates dazed, melodic beat-centric tunes that loosely hang between down-tempo head nodders and up-tempo club bangers. FADER has described his music as &lsquo;form-shifting beats [that] seem to resonate with spaced-out chillers and hyperactive party kids alike&rsquo;.</p> <p><strong>Line up:</strong></p> <p><strong>19:00 doors</strong></p> <p><strong>19:30 Bratři (CZ)</strong></p> <p><strong>20:30 Chrome Sparks live (USA)</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Similar artist: </strong>Odesza, Girraffage, Slow Magic, Flume, Hermitude, Royksopp, Chet Faker, Dream Koala, Com Truise, Cashmere Cat, Sun Glitters, Tycho, XXYYXX, Gold Panda, Purity Ring, Tourist, R&Uuml;F&Uuml;S, Roosevelt, TEED, Young Magic</p>

FREE MONDAYS | Eugene Morrow

<p>20:00 doors<br /> 20:15 Flash Boy<br /> 21:00 Eugene Morrow</p>

FREE MONDAYS | SONS OF SETTLERS (JAR) // support: Anna Vaverková

<p>20.3. open 20:00 NoD</p> <p>FREE MONDAYS live SONS OF SETTLERS (JAR)</p> <p>support: Anna Vaverkov&aacute; (CZ)</p> <p>tags: indie, folk, melodic, energetic, flowing</p> <p>FREE ENTRY</p>