Czech National Concert Band at the 44th Talich’s Beroun International Music Festival

On Saturday, 21 February, the Czech National Concert Band appeared for the fifth time as part of the accompanying programme of the 44th Talich’s Beroun International Music Festival. As in previous years, the concert was closely connected with the conducting masterclasses that have become an integral part of the orchestra’s activities.

For the first time, the orchestra collaborated with Marek Prášil, conductor of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava. Together they created a programme inspired by this year’s festival theme, “Women of Destiny.”

The first half of the concert featured works by two female composers. It opened with a composition by the American composer Carolyn Bremer, followed by Spring Meadow by the young Czech composer Kateřina Horká. The feminine theme continued with Co to máš, má milá (the third movement from Frýdlant Suite) by Pavel Staněk, in which every orchestral solo was performed by female members of the orchestra. This work, together with the closing piece of the first half, Convivium by Dutch composer Jan Bosveld, was conducted by Jiří Pohnán, a participant in this year’s conducting masterclasses.

The second half of the programme was devoted to Czech composers. It opened with Smetana Fanfare by Karel Husa, followed by Lašské slunce by Evžen Zámečník. Pavel Staněk was represented once again with his suite Písničky z východního konce, and the concert concluded with the third movement from Moravian Folk Fantasies by Klement Slavický, arranged for concert band by Jaroslav Zeman.