Pianist Sir András Schiff starts each day with a rendition of Bach, and in his own words, it is different every time. Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach will be the first piece performed at the concert by this originally Hungarian virtuoso. As well as playing the piano, he will be conducting the Czech Philharmonic.
For quite some time now, Sir András Schiff has needed no introduction among the music-loving public. Two years ago, as the Dvořák Prague festival’s Artist-in-Residence, he enthralled audiences as a pianist and conductor of the first Czech orchestra. However, his performance this year, despite having the same line-up, will be different – just as Bach’s music is different each time it is played . Over the course of one evening, he will perform two piano concertos: Bach’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Mozart’s Concerto No. 27 in B flat Major. To conclude the evening, he will be conducting Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E flat Major, as known as the Eroica.
Schiff argues that music and politics are inextricably linked, even though these pieces were written by composers who have long been dead. The heroic symphony begins with a military fanfare motif, reminiscent of a call to arms. However, the funeral march in the second movement serves to reminds us that an egoistic obsession with unlimited power can also lead to great downfalls.
Czech Philharmonic
The Czech Philharmonic is the foremost Czech orchestra and has long held a place among the most esteemed representatives of Czech culture on the international scene. The beginning of its rich history is linked to the name of Antonín Dvořák, who on 4 January 1896 conducted the ensemble’s inaugural concert. Although the orchestra performs a broad range of the core international repertoire, it is sought out most often for its superb interpretations of the classics by the great Czech composers in a tradition built up by great conductors (Talich, Kubelík, Ančerl, Neumann, and Bělohlávek). In 2008 the prestigious magazine Gramophone ranked it among the twenty best orchestras of the world. One of the orchestra’s most important recent projects has recording Tchaikovsky’s complete orchestral works for the Decca Label with Semyon Bychkov conducting. Since the inception of the Dvořák Prague Festival, the Czech Philharmonic has been its resident orchestra, and since 2018 it has been a holder of the Antonín Dvořák Prize for promoting and popularising Czech classical music abroad and in the Czech Republic.
The Dvořák Prague International Music Festival
Since 2008, the Dvořák Prague Festival has been offering more than two weeks filled with beautiful music and extraordinary cultural events inspired by the life and creative legacy of one of the world’s greatest musical geniuses. Taking Dvořák to Prague might seem about as revelatory as taking owls to Athens, and that is why the festival presenters say that they do not want to use Dvořák’s name lightly. The festival is not intended to be just a succession of concerts made more attractive by the names of famous performers. The festival’s programmes set out to present the works of Antonín Dvořák heard in their historical context so that alongside the great composer’s works that are part of the core repertoire of all renowned ensembles and soloists, the concert public will also hear works that are not played as regularly.