Prague is a city full of music and festivals celebrating that musical. The crowning glory of the music festival event calendar though is Prague Spring. Now in its 66th year, this top-notch festival brings some of the most influential orchestras, ensembles and soloists to Prague. There is also a strong competition element, so your chance to see the upcoming stars of tomorrow, today. The San Francisco Symphony and the New York Philharmonic; the Prague Guitar Quartet and Ensemble Martinu as well as John Malkovich and Dawn Upshaw are just a few of the fabulous people ready to play.
The Prague Spring International Music festival is an annual event that showcases different types of music like the opera, symphonies and chamber music. The festival has a large following and has become a part of Prague’s heritage in the recent years. Music lovers from Prague and around the world congregate in this wonderful city every year to celebrate some of the most famous names in music. Through the years, the Prague Spring Music Festival has seen numerous changes, but the essence of the festival remains the same, and that is to celebrate music. The festival started in the year 1946 and has grown through the years to become a part of the culture and tradition of Prague as well as a major hub for music lovers, tourists and musicians from around the world. Many famous musicians have played at this annual event, which has helped to not only boost their careers but their popularity as well. The Prague Spring Music Festival also allows new and upcoming musicians to interact with some of the greatest names in music for Prague Apartments .
The opening concert of Prague Spring Festival has just ended. This year, it has been unusual - while the opening concert has been of Bedich Smetana's cycle of six symphonic poems M vlast as usual, it has not been performed by the Czech Philharmonic but in order to commemorate the 200th anniversary of commencement of operation of the Prague Music School, the fifth oldest conservatoire in Europe, it has been performed by the Prague Conservatory's Symphonic Orchestra, i.e. by students (although conducted by Ji’ Blohlvek). M vlast is a very difficult piece. At the same time, it is basically the cornerstone of Czech classical music, the centrepiece, the family jewel. Similarly, the festival is the main musical event in the Czech Republic each year, attended by the crme de la crme of Czech society (including the President of the Czech Republic, the Mayor of Prague, most of the Cabinet ministers etc...).
The Prague Spring Music Festival is a set of concerts and through the years, they have been taking place in many different locations around the city. Each year there is a different set of venues, but there are also some that have been constant since the year of its inception. These venues include the great National Theater, St. Anne’s Monastery, the Municipal House, the Estates Theatre and the State Opera. Other locations where the concerts take place include popular theaters and concert houses that are available in plenty across Prague. The first Prague Spring Music Festival was held in 1946 under the patronage of the president of Czechoslovakia - Edward Benes. It was organized by some of the most influential figures of the Czech music scene. The Prague Spring Music Festival is the result of the hard work of Rafael Kubelik who was the chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Since the year 1952, the date of opening of the festival has been fixed at the 12th of May which is the death anniversary of Bedrich Smetana.
True, brass instruments, especially trumpets could have sounded a bit more prominent in Vyehrad - they have gained confidence only in rka - and the beginning of rka could have been more playful and less solemn. Also in Tbor the brass instruments have sounded rather pale (especially horns; trumpets have been a bit better). On the other hand, the Blan’k finale has been excellent. On the whole, the strings (and namely the violins, but that's hardly surprising as violin sections are usually very good and quite dominant in Czech orchestras) and flutes deserve commendation in my view (and not only because the second flutist is major cutie).
Prague Spring now has the stature of one of Europe's major music festivals. You can tell that from this year's hot tickets. Michael Tilson Thomas conducted the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in the first week; John Malkovich and Simon Rattle are still to come. On June 2 the actor is narrating Michael Sturminger's 2009 work The Infernal Comedy, which includes music by Vivaldi and Beethoven, and the Berlin Philharmonic, under Sir Simon's baton, will perform Mahler's sixth symphony in the festival's closing concert on June 4. If those performances are sold out, it's still worth trying for others.
Since the first year of its inception, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra has appeared in every one of the orchestral concerts that were held. This was in honour of the fact that they were celebrating their 50th year of existence. Through the years, there has been a certain tradition that the Prague Spring Music Festival has followed. The festival opens with a cycle of Bedrich Smetana’s symphonic poems called Ma vlast or my country, and until recently, the Prague Spring Music Festival used to close with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
Tickets to the Prague Spring Music Festival are available online, but they are usually sold out well in advance for most concerts. It is advised that tickets be purchased at least a week in advance for the smaller concerts and up to a month in advance for the bigger concerts.
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