Taste / Test (Take Two) If you’re curious about opera but a little afraid to commit to a full production, you can sample a variety of short excerpts from three Smetana operas this Friday (Dec 9). However, what will be just a taste for you will be a test for the performers. That’s because “Bedřich Smetana: Scenes and Excerpts” at the Prague Conservatory is part of the students’ compulsory subject,…
Tag: Prague Conservatory
Friday, December 2, 2011: Trojan Voice
Trojan Voice This has been a hectic year for Pavel Trojan. Besides the day-to-day running of the Prague Conservatory, he has also overseen the construction and opening of its gorgeous concert hall, the first new Prague classical concert stage in the past 100 years. And he’s organized and attended many of the school’s 200th anniversary festivities, which culminated in the Students’ Orchestra performing the traditional opening concert of the Prague…
Tuesday, November 22, 2011:The Hot Seat
Sitting in the Hot Seat This Saturday (Nov 26), 16 teenage pianists will compete in the sixth annual ‘Young Piano of the Prague Conservatory’ competition. Looking at the list of competitors, it’s clear that the audience will be privy to performances by some of the best young European pianists ages from 12 to 18. So if you’ve never witnessed a music competition, there’s no reason you shouldn’t pop in for…
Tuesday, November 8, 2011:Musical Institutions
Musical Institutions A musical institution (esteemed teacher Eduard Douša) plans a concert at a musical institution (the Prague Conservatory) to mark a musical institution (60 years of life with music) . “It happened to me – that which has happened to many others: I’ve been in this world for six decades,” writes composer/teacher/writer Eduard Douša. “Six milestones, six sharps [music notation #] – musically speaking, F Sharp, a beautiful tone.”…
Monday, May 16,2011:The Score
Red, white, and blue triangles painted on teenagers’ faces; on car side mirrors. The colors stitched on fabric, stretched across restaurant courtyard fences; draped around the shoulders of a chubby guy parading proudly down the sidewalk. These ebullient displays of the Czech Republic’s flag show once again that national pride tends to bubble up quickly and fervently in Bohemia, even two decades after its Velvet Revolution for political independence. Bedřich…
What Really Goes on Before the Curtain Goes Up? (December issue)
Major Players: Good People to Know in Czech Music Miriam Němcová, Conductor, Prague Conservatory Symphony Orchestra The French horn player is wearing running shoes and a hoodie. The harpist is in jeans. And the conductor is on her mobile. Welcome to Tuesday morning at the Prague Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. Conductor Miriam Němcová raises her hands and the music flows. “Pozor! Dva … čtyři, jo? (Pay attention! Two … four, right?)”…
