Janáček and Luhačovice Festival returns to the spa town after two years

Which selected artists, ensembles and orchestras can festival guests look forward to during the week of July 11-15?

"The festival will open on Monday 11. July at 16:30 with the traditional stop at the bust of Leos Janáček with the participation of guests of honour together with the performance of the festive fanfares from Janáček's Sinfonietta," said Milena Hrbáčová from the organizing Lázeňská kolonáda Luhačovice.

Monday evening at 8pm, one of Mozart's most famous operas, The Marriage of Figaro, will be performed on the Spa Square by selected soloists, an outstanding orchestra and the opera company of the Silesian Theatre Opava.

Tuesday's concert on 12 July will feature leading Slovak performers in a somewhat unusual line-up, namely the Moyzes Quartet, the Much Quartet and pianist Maroš Klátik. Their concert programme will include Janáček's String Quartet No.1, Dvořák's Piano Quintet in A major and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's String Octet in E flat major.

On Wednesday 13 July the beautiful and dignified premises of the Holy Family Church will be filled with the renowned Czech Ensemble Baroque under the direction of conductor Roman Válek. On this evening, guests will hear works by František Ignác Tůma, including the Cantata Te Deum, Sinfonia Ex C and the Missa Veni Pater Pauperum.

The fourth day of the festival, Thursday 14 July, will be rich in artistic experiences. It will offer guests two concerts.

"The first will see us back at Holy Family Church, starting at 3 p.m. We will be welcomed by the excellent Danaj dulcimer music with its soloists, the Spinek choir from Vnorov and the organist Martin Jakubíček. In their performance we will listen to the collected songs of Hynek Bim, called "Church Songs from Znorov", which can be said to be a previously undiscovered pearl of folk music culture," described the first part of Thursday's program Hrbáčová.

The second Thursday concert will take place in the evening at 7:30 pm in the intimate setting of the Spa Theatre. Here we welcome the top ensemble PhilHarmonia Octet Prague, whose performance will include Mozart's Serenade for wind instruments in C minor, a composition by A. Pavlorka's Lašská obrázky and, in an expanded octet with cello and double bass, Dvořák's beautiful Serenade in D minor.

The final day of the festival will be dedicated to two Czech greats who were enchanted by folklore, Vítězslav Novák and Leoš Janáček.

"Their works, the Slovácka Suite and a concert performance of the ballet Rákos Rákoczy, will be performed by renowned performers from the Czech and Slovak music scene - the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic and the Lúčnica choir," concluded Milena Hrbáčová.

Tomas Brauner, one of the most sought-after conductors of his generation, will take the baton at the climax of the festival.

Further information about the festival is available at www.janacekluhacovice.cz.

Categories: Tourism, Culture, What to do in Luhačovice, Why to Luhačovice, Luhačovice, Music, Festival, Concerts, Festival Janáček and Luhačovice, Leoš Janáček