The IMF Český Krumlov always approaches the biggest star of the given year with the request to become its “face”. This year the brightest star and face of the festival was the Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, who achieved fame especially for her role in Bizet’s Carmen and sang, among others, arias from this opera in Český Krumlov. In the field of classical music, the concert of South Korean pianist Kun Woo Paik, which took place at the Český Krumlov Castle Riding Hall, was also a strong experience. The world-famous pianist, who played Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor was accompanied by the North Czech Philharmonic Teplice under the baton of Canadian-Czech conductor Charlese Olivieri-Munroe. Opera enthusiasts enjoyed the concert of bass-baritone Adam Plachetka at the Castle Riding Hall. One of the most interesting Czech opera singers, he is currently a soloist of the Vienna State Opera and in Český Krumlov he performed a superb interpretation of famous arias from Händel’s oratorios as well as Mozart’s and Rossini’s operas, in which he excels in the Viennese arrangement. The closing of the IMF Český Krumlov belonged to the excellent performance by Bulgarian violinist Albena Danailova and violoncellist Meehae Ryo. These two ladies shone in Brahms’s Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in A Minor accompanied by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leoš Svárovský.          

Chamber concerts which take place in the magical setting of the Masquerade Hall of the Český Krumlov castle are an inseparable part of the IMF Český Krumlov. The first of these was the concert of the Prague Guitar Quartet. On the following day the Masquerade Hall witnessed the joint performance of Jitka Hosprová with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra Collegium. Perfect harmony was brought into the Masquerade Hall by the performance of Wihan Quartet. The concert of the Collegium Marianum ensemble provided the viewers with a unique experience of baroque music – four singers and seven musicians interpreted arias from operas by Venetian masters of the 17^th century. The audience in the Masquerade Hall also witnessed a unique project – the avant-garde composition Harlequin for Solo Clarinet by Karlheinz Stockhausen interpreted by clarinettist Karel Dohnal and accordionist Jiří Lukeš. The performance of the chamber orchestra Virtuosi Pragenses, which performed together with Slovak guitarist Miriam Rodriguez Brüllová and flautist Albert Wonjae Pae from the USA, was also outstanding. The series of chamber concerts was completed by the performance of the German violinist Sophia Jaffé and German-Czech harpsichordist Barbara Maria Willi.          

However, festival viewers had the opportunity to see not only concerts of so-called classical music. The festival had many other genres and genre overlaps on offer. This year a unique project, which was hindered by an unexpectedly strong storm last year, was presented – melodies of the legendary group Queen in a vocal-symphonic interpretation, The Queen Symphony by composer and conductor Tolga Kashif. The author conducted the composition in Český Krumlov himself and The Queen Symphony was interpreted by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kühn’s Choir Prague and Kühn Children’s Choir.      

National evenings have become a tradition at the IMF Český Krumlov. This year we made an excursion into Russia and its culinary art as well as music. The main star of the evening was the group Turetsky Choir, nine manly voices singing famous and popular songs adapted by the founder of the group Mikhail Turetsky. After the concert the social part of the evening followed with the opportunity to taste Russian culinary specialities (such as shashlik, pelmeni and golubci) or real Russian vodka and the group Vltava Cossacks sang popular Russian and Ukrainian folk songs in national costumes.     

The traditional jazz concert was titled Jazz Trumpeters’ Night this year. The Czech Radio Gustav Brom Big Band played under the leadership of Vlado Valovič. The main attraction of the concert was the performance by four solo trumpeters, Július Baroš, Jiří Hlava, Miroslav Hloucal and Lukáš Oravec.

Three leading Broadway musical singers, Morgan James, LaKisha Jones and Rob Evan, were invited to the also traditional musical concert. The concert titled Broadway Rocks brought a number of hits including melodies from the musicals Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia and Rock of Ages as well as famous film songs.   

However, the Český Krumlov festival does not focus solely on adult viewers. The third Children’s Afternoon in the Rhythm of Energy took place in the Brewery Garden in cooperation with the company E.ON. All the afternoon was accompanied by music: besides the group Timbre Music, “Saxana” Petra Černocká, who delighted the children with her songs and also made the parents laugh with her distinctive kind humour, performed. 

Outstanding Spanish flamenco guitarist Carlos Piñana was the star of the concert evening in the Kooperativa Garden during the closing weekend of the festival. His partner on stage was Michael Cába, a flamenco cajón and djembe player. The pleasant evening was accompanied by a glass of wine which every visitor enjoyed.      

The penultimate evening of the festival offered a spectacular concert by the group Čechomor. The Smíchov Chamber Philharmonic performed on the stage in the Brewery Garden together with Čechomor and some songs were accompanied by Kühn’s Choir Prague. Čechomor also invited some guests – Lenka Dusilová, guitarist Gerry Leonard, and Japanese musician Joji Hirota.    

The last moments of the festival took place during the official closing in the castle Masquerade Hall. “Average attendance was 92 % this year. It is clear that people who have a lot of worries want experiences and we are here to bring such experiences to them,” is how the president of the festival Jaromír Boháč summarized the 22^nd year. 

We are already preparing the 23^rd year of the festival. We will soon inform you about the music stars which will perform in Český Krumlov next year.