Harp and Flute at the Masquerade Hall
Although the flute and the harp are two completely different instruments in terms of structure and style of play, in chamber music they are often used together. Both instruments are endowed with a very delicate sound characteristic and the combinations of their tones bring new quality. The visitors to the Český Krumlov festival experienced this fact themselves on Wednesday 6th August at the Masquerade Hall, where harpist Jana Boušková performed together with the Korean flautist living in Paris, Jae-A Yoo. “This is the first time I have come to Český Krumlov and I have never seen such a beautiful concert hall during my concert travels before,” said a delighted Jae-A Yoo. In front of a sold out hall they played both solo compositions and three different interpretations of Fantasies written for the harp-flute duo by flautist Franz Doppler and harpist Antonio Zamara and also by two French authors Camille Saint-Saëns and Gabriel Fauré. “I consider the town of Český Krumlov our treasure and the atmosphere of the Masquerade Hall as well as the warm reception of the audience created great moments,” were the appreciative words of Jana Boušková after the concert.
Turkish Pianists Önder Sisters and Antonín Dvořák
A day later the concert of Turkish twin sisters Ferhan and Ferzan Önder, who found their home in Austria after studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, took place at the same hall. They brought both series of Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances for Piano Four Hands to the Český Krumlov audience. As they said after the concert, they have loved this piece since their childhood. As far as Czech authors are concerned, also Janáček’s and Smetana’s compositions are part of their repertoire. As an encore they played Ástor Piazzola’s Libertango and the composition written specifically for them titled Morning in Istanbul by Fazil Say. And what about their personalities – are twins Ferhan and Ferzan similar or is each of them completely different? Ferzan answered for both of them, “We could answer in this way: one à la Chopin, the other à la Liszt. I am definitely the calmer one and Ferhan is more temperamental and more dominant. Already during our studies she played Stravinsky and I preferred Mozart and Schubert. We complement each other perfectly and thus reach a balance.” The similarity and difference between them were emphasized by their dresses – the sisters performed in dresses of the same design, with a reference to oriental style, however, Ferhan’s colour was red and Ferzan’s was black.
“The First Lady of Violoncello” Natalia Gutman
On Friday the Kammerphilharmonie dacapo from Munich with conductor Franz Schottky and Natalia Gutman, called “the first lady of piano”, gave a performance at the Castle Riding Hall. The legendary Russian violoncellist has ample concert experience and studied at the best of the best, violoncellist Mstislav Rostopovich. She has a specific relationship to the Czech Republic – in 1961 as a student of the Moscow Conservatory she won a competition of the Prague Spring. And it was probably the moment when her future impressive career started. “This win opened many doors for me. At the time I met conductor Leopold Stokowski, who invited me to perform with him at Carnegie Hall. Since my first appearance at the Prague Spring I have always really liked the Czech audience,” remembers Natalia Gutman.
After her win at the Prague Spring she went on a tour during which she also visited Český Krumlov, “I remember having visited the local unique Baroque Theatre. After that I didn’t visit the Czech Republic for a long time, therefore, I was really pleased to get the invitation to this concert in Český Krumlov.” And what are her next professional plans? “After Český Krumlov I am travelling to Switzerland and Belgium, where I will lead master courses and in September I will be a juror at the international music competition ARD.” Conductor Franz Schottky said about the cooperation with Natalia Gutman, “Natalia is a very spontaneous artist and for me as a conductor this spontaneity is interesting. We met on stage for the first time two years ago in Munich when I organized a concert on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of conductor Sergiu Celibidache. I was his pupil and Natalia Gutman was his favourite soloist. Tonight in Český Krumlov we followed up on this cooperation. It was a wonderful experience, we appreciated the friendly reception and the great organization.“ He also commented on the atmosphere of the festival and the town, “I am looking forward to a tour of the town, which enchanted me, although I have only seen a part of it so far. This festival has a big name not only thanks to the beautiful setting but also thanks to famous artists who have performed here.”
Homage to Czech Musicals Presented by the Stars of Popular Music
The festival prepared an excursion into the world of musicals for Saturday night, during which the starts of Czech popular music Bára Basiková, Ilona Csáková, Leona Machálková, Petr Kolář, Jan Kříž, Václav Noid Bárta and Pavel Vítek performed. The concert titled Homage to Czech Musicals was a selection from Czech musical history and a tribute to Czech composers and lyricists whose work nowadays belongs to the jewels of Czech production. The singers were accompanied by the Festival Orchestra under the baton of Kryštof Marek, who presented himself not only as a conductor but also as a composer and lyricist – the audience heard his beautiful duet “Písek je čas” (“Sand is Time”) from the musical “A Christmas Carol”. The presenter of the musical evening was Roman Vojtek. Jiří Zimola, the governor of the South Bohemian Region, also attended the concert. “It is a good thing that the festival offers evenings of different genres besides classical music. The delighted response of the audience of today’s concert confirms this. For me personally this evening was a great experience. I appreciate the fact that the IMF Český Krumlov preserves its tradition in spite of financial difficulties and that thanks to it we can encounter phenomenal artists and beautiful music every summer,” said Jiří Zimola after the concert.
The protagonists of the concert appreciated the idea of organizing an evening of Czech musicals in the beautiful setting of the Brewery Garden with the illuminated tower of the chateau in the background. The atmosphere accompanied by good weather which at first seemed to be bringing a storm and rain but fortunately, as was the case of each of this year’s open-air concerts, the calamity stayed just outside Český Krumlov. “This concert was a great experience both for me and for my colleagues. I have been following this concert for many years and when I got the invitation to perform with musical melodies, I was really pleased. The songs which were chosen for this evening have been with me all my life. Therefore, it was a pleasure to sing them with great colleagues and with a symphonic orchestra,” said singer Bára Basiková.