International Music Festival Český Krumlov 2008

This summer, if you like good music and are particular about the atmospehere in which you enjoy it and if you like to discover world-class performers, make time to visit Český Krumlov. The 17th International Music Festival Český Krumlov takes place from 18th July to 23rd September.

During its existence, the Festival has gained an excellent reputation both in the Czech Republic and abroad. The Festival is well-known for the high quality of its programme and a selection of excellent performers, both domestic and foreign. The unrepeatable atmosphere of the concerts is further enhanced by the ambiance, decorations and during selected evenings even by a glass of wine, a dinner feast or a tasting of national specialities. This year’s musical feast is composed of 26 concerts and performances and next to classical music offers other music genres such as jazz, rock, folk music or melodies from musicals. In a nutshell: everyone’s taste will be satisfied by the rich selection offered by the Festival.

As usual, the concerts will take place in varied surroundings: in the Castle chambers, but also in the open air, in the gardens, on the courtyards and on the squares. The traditional opening concert commands particular attention. This year, the festival will be opened by an opera-themed gala performance in the Summer Riding School in the Castle gardens. World opera stars from the USA Alison Balshoi (soprano), Richard Zeller (barytone) a Erick Jordan (bas) accompanied by the Prague Chamber Philharmony conducted by Daniel Raiskin from Holand will perform various opera arias under the theme „Love and Death in World Opera“. A series of six opera performances in the unique Revolving Auditorium performed by the South Bohemian Theatre Company also promises to be unforgettable. The opera performed will be Verdi’s „Power of Fate“ and next to Czech singers from the South Bohemian Theatre Company and others will also see performances by guests from the New York Metropolitan Opera, namely the conductor John Keenan and tenorist Allan Glassman, as well as the South Korean sopranist Kyunghye La (select three performances only).

The Brewery Garden is a popular site for open-air concerts. This year, it will be the location of the highly anticipated concert of Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard, this year’s Oscar winners for the Best Song. The traditional „national evening“ will present the music and dancing from the sunny Greece as performed by Martha and Tena Elefteriadu, Nissos Music Band and the dance group Lyceum. In addition, visitors can sample Greek cuisine specialties. Another concert will be a performance of the best current Broadway musical singers Debbie Gravitte, Jan Horvath and Doug LaBrecque singing tunes from well-known musicals. They will be accompanied by the Moravian Philharmony Olomouc conducted by Randall Craig Fleischer, an expert in musicals. Following the excellent performances by J.Morrison, M.Fergusov and the vocal musical group New York Voices last year, this year will see a performance by the U.S. trumpetist Bobby Shew who used to regularly play with Benny Goodman among others.

Other world-renown artists are represented by the clarinetist Sharon Kam who made her debut as a sixteen-year-old with the Israeli Philharmonics conducted by Zubin Mehta. Since then she has perfomed with many top European, American and Japanese orchestras. Kam will be accompanied by the North Bohemian Philharmonics Teplice conducted by Charlese Olivier-Munroe, First Prize winner in the conductor category in the International Prague Spring Competition in 2000. The performance by the Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra with the Canadian conductor Kerry Stratton (holder of the Gratis Agit Award and Jan Masaryk Award) also promises to be a spledid musical experience. Also worth seeing is the concert by the world-famous guitar twins duo Peter and Zoltán Katona, the Katona Twins. They have already performed among others in the famous Carnegie Hall in New York, in the London Wigmore Hall or in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. As for the closing concert, this will be graced by two global clasical music stars, Sir James Galway and Lady Jaenine Galway. They will perform together with the Czech Radio Orchestra conducted by Vladimír Válek.

For the complete offer of concerts and performances, please view the Festival’s web pages www.ckrumlov.cz/mhf2008 or www.festivalkrumlov.cz.

We look forward to seeing you! Veronika Dušková – Speaker of the Festival