PRESS RELEASE, Brno, 6. 10. 2022
Filharmonie Brno is heading to the best concert halls in Great Britain. On Saturday, it begins a tour during which it will be performing seven concerts in seven different cities, not missing out on the most prestigious concert halls in the country, such as the iconic hall in Birmingham or the best concert hall in Scotland, the Usher Hall in Edinburgh.
The orchestra will be led by chief conductor Dennis Russell Davies and will take Czech music to the British Isles. Janáček’s Taras Bulba and Jealousy, Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 and 9, and Korngold’s Violin Concerto will all be performed as part of three different programmes. “When I took up the position of chief conductor and artistic director in Brno five years ago, I said that I wanted to focus on Czech composers. We have managed to do that every season, in our recordings too, but the fact that we are taking Czech composers, and especially those with links to Brno, abroad as well is something I value very highly,” said Davies. The solo parts will be played by violinist Milan Pala (at the first concert in Bradford), followed by violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky and cellist Laura van den Heijden, both of whom are among the young international stars living in Britain.
The orchestra opens the tour with a concert in Bradford on Saturday. From there it will move to Edinburgh and Scotland’s finest concert hall, with a capacity of over 2,000, following this up with concerts in Middlesbrough and Basingstoke. After that, the ensemble will play a concert at Cadogan Hall in the British capital, before moving move to Cardiff, the capital of Wales, playing an auditorium built in the 1980s. “It is there that we will play the works of what we might call the only non-Czech composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams, one of the most important British composers ever. October 12th marks the 150th anniversary of his birth, an event which is to be remembered all over the British Isles with a number of concerts,” said Marie Kučerová, the director of Filharmonie Brno. The orchestra will play Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, a one-movement work for string orchestra that elaborates on a musical theme from the 16th century. Filharmonie Brno then closes its tour in Birmingham, whose Symphony Hall is widely considered to be one of the finest in the world. It opened in 2001 and the quality of its acoustics has been praised by experts, musicians, and audiences alike. “We paid a visit a few years ago, when we were looking for inspiration and gathering experience for our own new hall in Brno. It’s an unbelievably impressive place with perfect acoustics, hosting the best ensembles in the world and producing some award-winning recordings,” said Kučerová.
The orchestra is embarking on the tour only a few days after returning from Salzburg, Austria. It took to the stage of Großes Festspielhaus in the prestigious role of guest ensemble for three nights in a row, beginning the concert season there. “Each time the audience gave us an ovation. The musicians offered high praise indeed for the acoustics in the hall. They were enchanted by the acoustics, mainly because they could hear each other perfectly when playing,” said Kučerová.
Filharmonie Brno will embark on a major tour of the United States in February of next year, when it will play several concerts there within the space of three weeks, including one at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
The program of UK Tour 2022
- 10. Bradford St George’s Hall (Program A)
- 10. Edinburgh Usher Hall (Program B)
- 10. Middlesbrough Town Hall (Program B)
- 10. Basingstoke The Anvil (Program C)
- 10. London Cadogan Hall (Program A)
- 10. Cardiff St David’s Hall (Program B)
- 10. Birmingham Symphony Hall (Program A)
Program A, Milan Paľa (Bradford), Alexander Sitkovetsky (London, Birmingham) – violin
LEOŠ JANÁČEK Taras Bulba
ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD Violin Concerto in D Major
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”
Program B, Laura van der Heijden (Edinburgh, Middlesborough, Cardiff) – violoncello
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra No.1
LEOŠ JANÁČEK Jealousy
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”
Program C, Laura van der Heijden (Basingstoke) – violoncello
LEOŠ JANÁČEK Taras Bulba
BOHUSLAV MARTINŮ Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra No.1
LEOŠ JANÁČEK Jealousy
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8
Media contact Kateřina Konečná, Head of PR and Marketing for Filharmonie Brno
+420 775 426 040 katerina.konecna@filharmonie-brno.cz
