Around the Table: An Informal Chat with the Audience “This was very interesting. I enjoyed the ‘wing,’” says Lenka. She’s an audience member speaking about the Marianum concert performed by The Berg Orchestra at the St Salvator church May 9. The concert presented two world premiere compositions by Slavomír Hořínka and a Stabat Mater by Arvo Pärt, under a massive paper sculpture shaped like a kind of wing, by artist…
Tag: Berg Orchestra
Tuesday, April 3, 2012: Colorful 10
Colorful 10: The Berg’s Red Yellow X The Berg Orchestra continues its extraordinary tradition of premiering and presenting new music, with its “Red – Yellow – X” concert next Mon, Apr 10. This time the location is the Dox center for contemporary art, in Holešovice. Fittingly, an hour before the 7:30 pm concert, ticket holders are invited to join a tour of “Industrial Holešovice” (in Czech) led by Prof Tomáš…
Tuesday, February 28, 2012: The Winners Are …
And the Winners Are … The votes are in and tallied, and the winner is … new music! The contest for the Berg Orchestra’s annual NuBerg Award for new music is growing in popularity, garnering an 80% increase in votes over last year, according to Eva Kesslová, spokesperson for the Orchestra. The winning compositions in this, the fifth year, are Blue – Innocent and Fragile by Ondřej Štochl, and music…
Thursday, December 8, 2011:Revelations
Revelations Judging from the audience reaction, the Berg Orchestra continues to amaze and delight. And the concert conducted by Peter Vrábel Mon, Dec 5 is no exception. The concert presented revelations from two contemporary Latvians and a Lithuanian – Peteris Vasks, Georgs Pelecis, and Juste Janulyte, respectively – to the City of a Hundred Spires, proving that the Baltic composers continue to provide “new” music that pricks up listeners’ ears….
Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011:Prehistoric Tracks
‘Prehistoric Tracks’: Movie Music Before CDs “Not many original film scores are being produced in the Czech Republic these days. Directors usually come with the CD of their favorite tunes,” points out Jan Dušek. This year the young composer was commissioned by the Berg orchestra to dress the-101-year-old short film by D W Griffith, A Child of the Ghetto, in a new mantel. The short film serves up a little…
Monday, October 31, 2001:Culture Convergence
Culture Convergence What does a haiku, the enigmatic Japanese poetry form, have to do with a musical instrument made from a plastic tube? You can find out Wednesday at the Prague Conservatory’s new concert hall. The Berg Orchestra will present three premieres in its “Foreigners from the East” concert. Cultural influences from both the East and West will be showcased in the music of highly acclaimed contemporary composer Jana Vöröšová,…
Wednesday, October 5,2011:Cinegogue
Cinegogue in the Synagogue No, cinegogue is not the new codified spelling of the holy place of Jewish worship. Once you look more closely at this odd homophone/word, it will all start to make sense. Cine stands for cinema, and gogue is what’s left of the original word. The last element which brings it together is the Berg Orchestra. By now you must have already guessed that cinegogue is a…
Wed, September 7, 2011:Berg at Roxy
Berg at Roxy With a repertoire as unique as the spaces they choose for their performances, the Berg Orchestra challenges traditional expectations of classical music. The past few months have found the Berg Orchestra performing in a number of unconventional venues, such as a water-treatment plant and in the former transportation office at Vltavská. Next Tuesday they will make a second visit to the hard-rock Roxy club (where they already…
Tuesday, August 16, 2011: In the Zone
In the Zone Once in a while a musician or dancer finds the piece that just suits him or her perfectly. It puts them “in the zone,” that mysterious part of the brain which takes over the body. It’s also called the Muse. Such is the case with The Berg Orchestra and their performance of Lithuanian composer Bronius Kutavičius’ music to the 1928 silent film La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc….
Monday, August 8, 2011: Not-So-Silent
Not-So-Silent Film If you like classic film, gorgeous music, a live orchestra, and a historic setting, the Berg Orchestra has just the ticket for you. On Friday, August 12 the orchestra will perform contemporary classical music to a black-and-white, 1928 silent classic film. “La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc” will be shown, with the orchestra performing, at St George’s Basilica, Prague Castle. It’s an interesting update on an old classic. “Not…
Monday, July 11, 2011: She Lets Dancers Talk
It’s July in the Czech Republic, and that means it’s summer vacation! Opus Osm is on vacation this week, but we just had to put our shoes back on and go to work long enough to tell you about this interesting Czech director … The Theatre Director Who Lets the Ballet Dancers Talk Petra Tejnorová, the young emerging theatre director, keeps a tight schedule. This theatre season alone she put…
Tuesday, May 31, 2011: Wings of a Dream
Flying on the Wings of a Dream On June 13, The Berg Orchestra will perform Finlandia, contemporary music from Finland. On the Wings of a Dream (Aile du Songe) by K Saariaho, and Symphony for Strings and Equilibrium by PH Nordgren will accompany five dancers choreographed by Mirka Eliášová. For both orchestra director Peter Vrabel and Mrs Eliášová, the setting for the evening’s “site specific” performance is as important as…
Thursday, May 26, 2011:Were You There?
An amazing variety of performances in several interesting locations have been on offer in Prague recently. Which ones did you attend? Take a closer look at the photos from our “Facebook”-type album — are you there? Do you recognize anyone? This album shows you performances of Timing, Peter and the Wolf, a concert celebrating the establishment of two charitable organizations, and a concert featuring a variety of talented string players….
Monday, May 23, 2011: Magic of Music
The Magic of Music, Or,What Happens To The Duck? In which fairytale does an evil wolf not get killed, but instead gets taken to a zoo? (And not only that, but with a duck he had eaten still alive in his stomach?) The correct answer is Peter and the Wolf, a story by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, who composed the piece to prove that instruments can tell stories. That…
Thursday, April 28, 2011: Countdown
Tick-tock. Time is running down. Only a matter of days now. Soon, only a matter of hours. Then minutes. And then the curtain will rise (if there even is a curtain) on a huge glass case filled with 100 of them. A hundred metronomes. All ticking. All ticking in different rhythms. At different speeds. Is this any way to begin a musical dance performance? Definitely. That is, if you are…
Thursday, March 31, 2011: Drums ‘n Space
If you’ve ever wanted to pound a drum, tap a wood block, or express your inner rhythms, you might have a chance to try, this Monday evening at 6:30. That’s when the fun created by the Berg Orchestra and guests will begin. Their evening performance at the Lichtenstein Palace, in cooperation with the Academy of Music’s percussion department, is called “ClappINg,” and presents original percussion works by young composers. But…
