Smetana days
International Classical Music Festival in Pilsen
Dear friends of the Smetana Days, the programme of the 43rd Smetana Days Festival, which will take place from 2 March to 6 April 2023, is already fully prepared and you can see the individual concerts and events below. The Festival passes and tickets are already on sale. The Festival passes are available at the Pilsen Philharmonic headquarters (by prior telephone arrangement) and tickets at all Pilsen Ticket sale points. The opening concert of the Festival will be on 2 March with Alexander Blettenberg & Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra. The closing concert on 6 April will also be an exceptional musical experience. The programme includes Antonín Dvořák's Stabat Mater performed by the Pilsen Philharmonic with its chief conductor Chuhei Iwasaki. You can also look forward to Alžběta Poláčková (soprano), Václava Housková (alto), Václav Vallon (tenor) and Roman Janál (bass). The Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno with choirmaster Petr Fiala will sing as well.
The Pilsen Philharmonic has been the organizer of the festival since 2013 and cooperates partially with other regional and national institutions on the dramaturgy of the festival. www.plzenskafilharmonie.cz
It is our honour to welcome you to another year of the Smetana Days, a music festival that has gained the popularity and respect of the general cultural public for more than forty years of its existence.
As in previous years, you can expect a variety of genres, an interesting dramaturgy, a combination of music, literature, drama and art. The unifying motto of this year "Work and the transformation of thought in the 19th century Czech society" will be reflected in a number of artistic projects and will also become the main theme of the traditional interdisciplinary scientific symposium, which will take place from 2 March to 6 April 2023.
The Smetana Days Festival will be opened on 2 March 2023 with the concert "Alexander Blettenberg & Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra". The organizers of the Festival cooperate with a number of institutions of regional and national scope to create the programme. There will be exhibitions, workshops, theatre and concert performances, in which important personalities of the domestic and international scene will be presented to the audience.
A strong artistic experience can be expected not only from the opening concert, but we can look forward to the series of chamber concerts in the House of Music with Igor Ardašev, Štěpán Rak, Haydn Ensemble, Quasi Trio and other excellent artists. The concerts at St. Bartholomew's Cathedral, where Stabat Mater & Giovanni Battista Pergolesi and Wandering through the Parisian Cathedrals will be held, promise to be an extraordinary experience. The final concert will also be a feast for the audience, with Antonín Dvořák's Stabat Mater performed by the Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno and the soloists Alžběta Poláčková (soprano), Václava Housková (alto), Václav Vallon (tenor) and Roman Janál (bass).
Also very interesting will be a composed programme dedicated to the history, culture and identity of the Roma called Cimbálovka na druhou (The dulcimer music band multiplied by the square). Two great dulcimer bands, the Cimbálová muzika Horváthovci and the Cimbálová muzika of Milan Brouček, will perform. Also an interview with the director of the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno, Jana Horváthová will be included. The moderator will be the historian Zdeněk Hazdra.
The J. K. Tyl Theatre will contribute to the Festival programme with a performance of Antonín Dvořák's Armida. Interesting exhibitions are prepared in the West Bohemian Gallery and the Study and Research Library of the Pilsen Region.
Music and art bring people together, create interpersonal bonds, bring joy and break away from the usual stereotype. In the spirit of this idea, we have - as in previous years - taken every possible care in the preparation of the programme and we believe that you will find pleasure and inspiration in our offer.
