Chamber Series Archivy - Smetanova Litomyšl

Medieval Love Songs

Hana Vlasáková — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 07:35:56 +0000

The project Medieval Love Songs invites to an encounter with music heard in France and Southern Europe in the 12th–14thcenturies, in the age of troubadours and trouvères singing of love both idealized and earthly. Monophonic songs and the earliest hints of polyphony reveal how devotional fervor alternated with personal sorrow, longing, and gently playful teasing in the poetry of the time. Barbora Kabátková, combining vocal storytelling and Gothic harp, and Kristýna Kosíková on organetto, create an intimate, historically evocative atmosphere within the walls of the Karlštejn Hunting Lodge.

Performers

Barbora Kabátková – voice, Gothic harp
Kristýna Kosíková – organetto, clavicymbalum

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Článek Medieval Love Songs se nejdříve objevil na Smetanova Litomyšl.

Il Polifemo & Collegium 1704

Eva Flídrová — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 07:33:12 +0000

The programme Il Polifemo invites the audience into the fascinating world of Baroque music, inspired by the myth of Polyphemus the Cyclops – a theme to which masters such as Handel, Bononcini and Alberti have returned. Following his triumph at Smetana Litomyšl in 2025 as Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, Italian bass-baritone Luigi De Donato promises once again an evening of drama, Baroque charm and unforgettable musical moments.

programme

“Il Polifemo”

Antonio Cesti
Amante gigante

Baldassare Galuppi
Koncert à 4 č. 7 A dur
Largo – Allegro – Andante

Domenico Alberti
La Galatea
Se poi mi scaccia
Mira il monte e verdi come alza al ciel
Fermati, Galatea
Sanno l’onde

Francesco Durante
Koncert à quattro č. 2 g moll
Affettuoso – Presto – Largo affettuoso – Allegro

Giovanni Bononcini
Polifemo
Intesi oppure sognai
Vanarella, pazzarella
Or che mi sei fedele
Dieci vacche, otto vitelli

Antonio Vivaldi
Sinfonia in g, RV 157
Allegro – Largo – Allegro

Georg Friedrich Händel
Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, HWV 72
Mi palpita il cor
Fra l’ombre e gl’orrori
Precipitoso nel mar che freme
Impara, ingrata
Affano trianno

Performers

Luigi De Donato – bas
Collegium 1704
Václav Luks – conductor

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Článek Il Polifemo & Collegium 1704 se nejdříve objevil na Smetanova Litomyšl.

Pavel Haas Quartet

Hana Vlasáková — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 07:27:13 +0000

The Pavel Haas Quartet brings Czech chamber music to life and this year presents two of Antonín Dvořák’s supreme masterpieces. A string quartet and a string sextet shine with lyrical beauty, graceful melodies, and intricate harmonies – music that touches the heart while also impressing with its structural refinement. The evening promises an intense musical experience in which every note reveals Dvořák’s genius for uniting emotion, elegance, and the expressive power of chamber music.

programme

Antonín Dvořák
String Quartet in A-flat major, Op. 105

Antonín Dvořák
String Sextet in A major, Op. 48

Performers

Pavel Haas Quartet
Pavel Nikl – viola
Ivan Vokáč – cello

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Článek Pavel Haas Quartet se nejdříve objevil na Smetanova Litomyšl.

La forza della natura & Maayan Licht

filip.hajek@wwworks-vyvoj.cz — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 01:14:51 +0000

The recital by Maayan Licht, an exceptional sopranist specialized in Baroque opera, offers an evening in the company of composers such as Georg Friedrich Händel, Antonio Vivaldi, and Domenico Scarlatti. In the chamber setting of the Castle Theatre, his dramatic instinct and refined approach to Baroque ornamentation will be fully revealed.

programme

Georg Friedrich Händel
Ombra mai fu, from Xerxes
Un pensiero nemico di pace, from Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, HWV 46a

Antonio Vivaldi
Zeffiretti che sussurrate, from Ercole sul Termodonte, RV 710

Domenico Scarlatti
Sonata in G major, K. 152

Georg Friedrich Händel
Venti, turbine, prestate, from Rinaldo, HWV 7
Lascia ch’io pianga, from Rinaldo, HWV 7

Domenico Scarlatti
Sonata in A minor, K. 175
Sonata, K. 208

Georg Friedrich Händel
Brilla nell’alma, from Alessandro

Johann Sebastian Bach / Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto in D major, BWV 972
(Allegro – Larghetto – Allegro)

Antonio Vivaldi
Gelido in ogni vena, from Farnace, RV 711

Georg Friedrich Händel
Da tempeste il legno infranto, from Giulio Cesare, HWV 17

Performers

Maayan Licht – soprano
Guy Maori – harpsichord

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Článek La forza della natura & Maayan Licht se nejdříve objevil na Smetanova Litomyšl.

Tiburtina Ensemble & Guests

Hana Vlasáková — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 01:07:19 +0000

The cycle Trobairitz (Troubadouresses) by composer and conductor Michal Nejtek invites audiences into the world of medieval women poets from southern France, whose voices are heard far less often in history than the songs of their famous male counterparts. Tiburtina Ensemble, led by Barbora Kabátková, focuses on the female voice and medieval music. The vocalists are joined by instrumentalists Marco Ambrosini, Martin Novák, Catalina Vicens, and Margit Übellacker.

programme

Michal Nejtek
Trobairitz / Troubadouresses

Performers

Ivana Bilej Brouková,
Tereza Böhmová,
Daniela Čermáková,
Anna Chadimová Havlíková,
Kamila Mazalová – voice
Hana Blažíková, Barbora Kabátková – medieval harp, voice
Marco Ambrosini – nyckelharpa
Martin Novák – percussion
Catalina Vicens – organetto
Margit Übellacker – hackbrett
Michal Nejtek – conductor

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Článek Tiburtina Ensemble & Guests se nejdříve objevil na Smetanova Litomyšl.

Smetana & Shostakovich in Young Hands

Hana Vlasáková — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 01:02:17 +0000

Music full of virtuosity and powerful stories fills an evening that connects the rising generation with distinguished figures of the Czech music scene. Works by composers such as Bedřich Smetana, Váša Příhoda, Oskar Nedbal, and Dmitri Shostakovich will be performed by young talents of the South Bohemian Piano Courses and the Ševčík Academy. They will be joined on stage by leading Czech artists who will lend their exceptional artistic depth: cellist Tomáš Jamník and pianist Jan Bartoš. The concert also commemorates the 120th anniversary of the birth of Dmitri Shostakovich – a composer whose music continues to fascinate with its intensity, urgency, and profound humanity.

programme

Bedřich Smetana
On the Seashore. Concert Étude in G-sharp minor, Op. 17

Bedřich Smetana
The Hulan (Czech Dances, Book II) 
The Skočná (Czech Dances, Book II)

Oskar Nedbal
Romantic Piece for viola and piano, Op. 18

Váša Příhoda
Romance élégiaque 
Caprice in E major

Bedřich Smetana
From the Homeland,
two duos for violin and piano

Dmitri Shostakovich
Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57

Performers

Pavla Bedřichová – violin
Tereza Horáková – violin
Bohumil Bondarenko – viola
Vojtěch Trubač – piano
Matouš Zukal – piano
Jan Bartoš – piano
Tomáš Jamník – cello
South Bohemian Piano Courses
and the Ševčík Academy

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Článek Smetana & Shostakovich in Young Hands se nejdříve objevil na Smetanova Litomyšl.

Kateřina Kněžíková & Bennewitz Quartet

Hana Vlasáková — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:57:54 +0000

The captivating atmosphere of the French “fin de siècle” 19. comes to life though music in a unique collaboration of outstanding performers. Soprano Kateřina Kněžíková joins forces with the Bennewitz Quartet and their masterful ensemble playing, together with the brilliant pianist Martin Kasík and the double bassist Petr Ries.

The program offers music rich in passion, lyricism, and subtle shades of color – from the enchanting musical poetry of Gabriel Fauré and the emotionally charged musical world of Ernest Chausson to the refined elegance of composers such as Camille Saint-Saëns, Jules Massenet, Joseph Jongen, and Guillaume Lekeu.

programme

Gabriel Fauré
La bonne chanson, op. 61

Claude Debussy
String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10
Assez vif et bien rythmé

Ernest Chausson
Chanson perpétuelle, op. 37

Joseph Jongen
Calmes, aux quais déserts, op. 54

Guillaume Lekeu
Trois poèmes, No.3: Nocturne, V.82

Maurice Ravel
String Quartet in F major
Assez vif. Très rythmé

Camille Saint-Säens
Désir de l’orient

Jules Massenet
Nuit D’Espagne

Performers

Kateřina Kněžíková – soprano
Bennewitz Quartet
Martin Kasík – piano
Petr Ries – double bass

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Článek Kateřina Kněžíková & Bennewitz Quartet se nejdříve objevil na Smetanova Litomyšl.

My Country & Matyáš Novák

Eva Flídrová — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:14:58 +0000

Matyáš Novák’s recital offers a unique experience – hearing the complete cycle My Country by Bedřich Smetana in an arrangement for solo piano. Its author is the piano virtuoso, composer, and pedagogue Heinrich von Kàan-Albést, the centenary of whose death will be commemorated this year. This remarkable piano version appears on concert stages only rarely these days, not least because of its extraordinary technical and interpretive demands. Matyáš Novák ranks among the most distinctive Czech pianists of the younger generation. A laureate of numerous international competitions, he continues the tradition of the Czech piano school in a remarkable way, presenting it to audiences at home and abroad.

programme

Bedřich Smetana:
My Country – complete performance of the cycle for solo piano arranged by Heinrich von Kàan-Albést

Performers

Matyáš Novák – piano

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Článek My Country & Matyáš Novák se nejdříve objevil na Smetanova Litomyšl.

České Milovy – Passion for Glass

Eva Flídrová — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 23:51:52 +0000

The beautiful and extraordinary space of the glass gallery Na Milovské huti offers a musical journey across the centuries. Works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Reinhold Glière, Johan Halvorsen, and Philip Glass will be heard in a chamber dialogue between violin and cello, brought vividly to life amid works of glass art.

programme

Johann Sebastian Bach
Two-part Inventions, BWV 772/786

Ludwig van Beethoven
Duo No. 1 in C major
I. Allegro commodo

Reinhold Glière
Eight Pieces for Violin and Cello, Op. 39

Johan Halvorsen
Passacaglia in G minor for Violin and Cello

Bohuslav Martinů
Duo for Violin and Cello No. 1, H. 157

Philip Glass
Duo No. 1 for Violin and Cello

Performers

Irena Jakubcová – violin
Václav Petr – cello

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Článek České Milovy – Passion for Glass se nejdříve objevil na Smetanova Litomyšl.

Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos

Hana Vlasáková — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 10:56:01 +0000

The Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach are among the pinnacles of Baroque music and form the foundations of the European musical tradition. In a program specially prepared for Smetana Litomyšl, three of them will be performed. In a masterful interpretation by the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra under the baton of British conductor Nicholas Kraemer, the joy, playfulness and dazzling virtuosity of these works — timeless symbols of Baroque beauty and musical perfection —come vividly to life. Complementing this palette of music deeply inspired by nature, its cycles and transformations, are works by Georg Philipp Telemann and Georg Friedrich Händel.

Because of their high demands on performers, the six Bach concertos are rarely presented in concert as a full set. A unique opportunity to hear the remaining three concertos by the same artists will take place in Prague on June 8, 2026 under the auspices of the Czech Chamber Music Society.

programme

Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 F major, BWV 1047

Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B flat major, BWV 1051

Georg Philipp Telemann
Concerto in E minor for recorder, flute, strings and basso continuo, TWV 52:e1

Georg Friedrich Händel
Concerto Grosso No. 7 in B flat major, Op. 6, HWV 325

Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049

Performers

Jakub Kydlíček – recorder
Michala Roubalová – recorder
Andrea Rysová – flute
Jana Brožková – oboe
Walter Hofbauer – trumpet
Jan Fišer – violin
Pavel Ciprys – viola
Jaroslav Pondělíček – viola
Mélusine de Pas – viola da gamba
Michal Raitmajer – viola da gamba
Matěj Štěpánek – cello
Petr Ries – double bass

Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
Nicholas Kraemer – conductor, harpsichord

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Článek Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos se nejdříve objevil na Smetanova Litomyšl.