By Do Je-hae
Local classical music fans will have a chance this month to hear some of the best ensembles from the Czech Republic.
The Prague Philharmonia, one of the foremost orchestras from the Czech Republic, will play two concerts Oct. 22-23 to celebrate the 21st anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and the Central European country. They will play works by Rossini, Beethoven, Dvorak and Mozart during the two-day Korean tour, which marks its Asian debut.
The orchestra was founded by renowned conductor Jiri Belohlavek in 1994 and under his leadership has become one of the best Czech orchestras with an international reputation.
The Prague Philharmonia performs at music festivals in the Czech Republic and regularly appears abroad. The average age of the musicians is currently 34 years.
The orchestra has made recordings for a number of labels, including Supraphon, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI and Harmonia Mundi.
The orchestra collaborated with world-renowned Korean soprano Sumi Jo for a recent album to commemorate the 25th anniversary of her international debut.
Some of the world’s top musicians, including pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, pianists Yefim Bronfman, Andras Schiff, and violinists Shlomo Mintz and Sarah Chang have performed with the orchestra.
For chamber music lovers, the Virtuosi di Praga will play masterpieces of Czech chamber music at the Sejong Center for Performing Arts and Seoul Museum of History Oct. 20- 21.
The string quartet founded in 1976 is a regular performer at major Czech and foreign music festivals. With a wide repertoire it has recorded more than 200 LPs and CDs and is a holder of numerous platinum and gold discs.
Masterpieces by Czech composers Antonin Dvorak, Josef Suk, Bohuslav Martinu will be performed.
In addition, the Luventus Svitavy Choir, an internationally acclaimed Czech mixed choir, will introduce sacred music with a few Czech folk songs on Oct. 28. The venue will be announced on the Czech Embassy website at www.mzv.cz/seoul.
These concerts are some of the highlights of the five-week-long Czech cultural festival named “Czech Points in Seoul,” featuring more than 20 different events in 15 places around the capital.
The festival is being organized and coordinated by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Korea in cooperation with numerous Czech and Korean institutions.
The Korea Times is the media partner of the special program. It is the biggest such Czech event in the 21-years-long history of diplomatic relations between the two countries.