Music

Music has as rich a tradition in the Ostrava region, dating back to the end of the 19th century. Theatres provided concerts, and after 1927, when the City began to organise regular symphonic performances of Czech and international music, attendance soared. In the 1930s, Ostrava played host to such luminaries as Paul Hindemith and Igor Stravinský, who played the solo parts of his Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra here, as well as Sergei Prokofiev, who performed parts of his Concerto for Piano No.3.

The Ostrava Philharmonic Orchestra was created in 1923. Musical culture in the city was further nurtured by music schools, especially the Matice Music and Organ School, renamed in 1935 as the Masaryk House of Music and Vocal Arts of Moravian Ostrava. Later, more and more music schools were established, including the Ostrava Conservatory and the People's Conservatory.

At the end of the 1920's, Ostrava had another excellent orchestra adding to the quality of music in the area: The Czechoslovak Radio Orchestra. After World War II, the number of high quality orchestras and choirs grew, many of which were founded in schools and in newly-built houses of culture.

Janáček´s Philharmonic Ostrava

The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra Ostrava became one of the leading Czech symphonic orchestras very shortly after its founding in 1954. Since 1958, when it went on its first international tour, the Janáček Philharmonic has travelled through almost the whole of Europe, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

The artistic profile of the Orchestra, characterised by a full and rich sound, musical expression and high technical level were progressively formed, apart from permanent directors, also by some important guests - V. Neumann, V. Smetáček, J. Bělohlávek, L. Pešek, Z. Mácal, Ch. Mackerras, S. Baudo, H. Rilling, and since 2005, the current chief director, Theodore Kuchar. Among soloists who have performed with the Orchestra, you can find Josef Suk, André Navarra, Eva Urbanová, and José Carreras.

Its repertoire is very broad and this is confirmed by both the dramaturgy of individual concerts and rich discography.

Janáčkova filharmonie Ostrava
ul. 28. října 124
702 00 Ostrava
tel.: +420 596 619 914
www.jfo.cz

Camerata Janáček

The CAMERATA JANÁČEK Chamber Orchestra, which has extended the almost ten-year long tradition of performances by the Silesian Chamber Orchestra, was founded at the end of 1998. The youthfulness of this orchestra is measured by both by the relatively few years of its existence and the average age of the musicians involved. It includes many leading artists from the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra Ostrava.

This ensemble has succeeded in organisation of a number of interesting concerts and projects, including the renewed premiere of works by Karel Ditters von Dittersdorf, which had not been performed for more than 200 years - his oratorio Esther, performed by the orchestra in the Autumn Festival of Spiritual Music in Brno and repeated several times throughout the country, as well as concerts with the guitarist Lubomír Brabec or the violinist Václav Hudeček.

www.cameratajanacek.cz

Janáček Chamber Orchestra

The orchestra was founded in 1964 by leading players from Ostrava’s Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra and it has belonged for a number of years among the best musical ensembles of the Czech Republic and Europe. Its former Artistic Director, Zdeněk Dejmek, moulded the orchestra into a systematic and precise ensemble, with an impressive musical sensitivity and style. The orchestra’s repertoire includes works from the Italian baroque, Czech and Viennese classicism, as well as the pearls of romanticism and the 20th century. The high standard of the orchestra has been certified not only by the excellent response to its performances here at home, at international festivals such as Prague’s Spring, Janáček May, or the Moravian Autumn, but in many prestigious festivals abroad, as well.

www.jco.cz

Kaemika corni

Kaemika corni is an excellent quartet founded in 1978. It consists of horns largely drawn from Ostrava’s Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra. The exotic sounding name of the ensemble comes from the first letters of the names of the founding members.

The ensemble has a noble, cultivated sound and vast tonal scope full of colourful and dynamic shades. These characteristics, together with perfect instrumentation technique, allow the Kaemika to draw from an extensive repertoire from all stylistic periods (from baroque to the present). In addition to concert repertoire, hunting music also plays an important role. Kaemika corni has been praised over its long history for its notable radio recordings and television broadcasts.

Kubín Quartet

The Kubín Quartet belongs among the leading Czech chamber orchestras of the middle age generation. It was founded at the Ostrava’s Conservatory in 1972 and its artistic development was significantly marked by studies of the Ostrava, Janáček and Smetana’s Quartets from 1975 to 1985, when it became the laureate of a number of national and international competitions. From 1987 – 1992, the quartet formed the chamber part of Ostrava’s Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra. Its members have been also lecturing at the Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava since 1982.

The quartet has got a very extensive repertoire, including works by composers from all style periods, from pre-classicism to the present. The quartet also co-operates with excellent domestic interpreters (e.g. I. Klánský, L. Peterková, or L. Brabec) and foreign interpreters (e.g. Moyzes Quartet, M. Lapšanský, or J. Ehde). The quartet has performed in a number of important festivals both at home and abroad, having visited almost all European countries.

www.kubinquartet.cz

Brass Quintet of the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra Ostrava

The Quintet began as a response to the frequent request by various event organisers for ceremonial fanfares. They Quintet performs regularly at graduations, congresses, symposium openings, representative balls, new building openings, etc.

The quintet was honoured to perform during ceremonies welcoming the Belgian royal couple to Ostrava’s City Hall. Another important performance took place in Barcelona in 2003, where the quintet performed during a presentation of the City of Ostrava for Spanish businessmen.

Progressively, there have been works from different time periods added to the repertoire, to the point where there are now several progammes to choose from. However, works by renaissance and baroque composers like Gabrieli, Pezzel, Vejvanovský, Scheidt, and the like are most common.

The Janáček Conservatory

The Janáček Conservatory is one of the largest and most modern arts schools in Central Europe, and continues the educational traditions of the Masaryk House of Music and Vocal Arts. The Ostrava Conservatory was established in 1953 as a music-pedagogy school. In 1959, it became a conservatory, and in 1996, with the opening of the new conservatory building, it was renamed the Janáček Conservatory. The school provides young talent in the fields of music-drama, dance, and vocal and instrumental performance with numerous opportunities in different fields. Most of the graduates of the school move on to work in theatres in and around Ostrava, or play with the Janáček Philharmonic and other musical ensembles around the Czech Republic. The Conservatory enriches the cultural life of Ostrava through the musical concerts and theatrical performances of its current students and former graduates.

Janáčkova konzervatoř v Ostravě, p.o.
Českobratrská 40
701 62 Ostrava-Moravská Ostrava
tel.: +420 596 112 007
www.jko.cz