At the beginning of his tenure as Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Czech Philharmonic, Semyon Bychkov initiated a commission of fourteen works by the best contemporary composers. This week, the Dvořák Hall will be filled with the sound of one of these works. We invite you to the Prague Symphony.
From 8 to 10 December you can witness the world premiere of the Prague Symphony. Lyrical Fragments after Franz Kafka, composed for the Czech Philharmonic by Detlev Glanert. He is mainly recognised as a composer of vocal-instrumental works and has fourteen operas to his credit. However, he does not shy away from working with text and the human voice in the Prague Symphony either. He found his inspiration for the composition in Prague itself and in the way Franz Kafka portrayed it in his works.
"The material connection with the piece is the melancholic evening mood, which is also often reflected in Kafka's lyrics, and also a kind of subtle but constant unease. Kafka may have once said that Prague is a mother who never lets one out of her claws. I find this kind of attractive force connected with the constant reminder of the past (whether new or old) fascinating in Jakub Schikaneder. His other paintings with evening or nighttime themes (Evening Mood or Embankment with Tram) also reflect the atmosphere in which Kafka wrote."
— Detlev Glanert
Evening Mood, Jakub Schikaneder
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