The second festival week started on Wednesday with the concert of violoncellist Jiří Bárta and pianist Terezie Fialová. On 23^rd July they played Antonín Dvořák’s complete chamber work for violoncello and piano and the Balladica Suite by Petr Eben in front of a sold out Masquerade Hall at the Český Krumlov Chateau. “These two composers play a fundamental role in my life.

Petr Eben was the first one who brought me to the professional stages at the end of the 1980s when he started inviting me to his author evenings. For me, as a musician – he was a great pianist – and as a person the meeting with him was a fatal moment. I fell in love with his Balladica Suite, which we played today, already as a student. And as far as Antonín Dvořák is concerned, his Concerto in H Minor is of course the composition which I play most often at concerts. But tonight we included Dvořák’s less often played pieces in the program,” said Jiří Bárta about the program of the concert. As a co-founder and dramaturge of the International Music Festival Kutná Hora he pays great attention to the choice of compositions, “I have always thought about dramaturgy. Whether I prepared the repertoire of my records or concerts, I tried to include an idea, a contrast, a connection which is not quite obvious and which can be surprising in the subtext.” This year when he conceives his concerts he takes into account the Year of Czech Music, therefore the audience heard only Czech composers at the Masquerade Hall. The delighted audience elicited two encores. The first one was Dvořák’s Slavonic Dance No. 8 in G Minor that is the last of Antonín Dvořák’s works for violoncello and piano which the audience heard on that night, and the second one was Camille Saint-Saëns’s The Swan.

Jiří Bárta played together with pianist Terezie Fialová, with whom he has also been performing in the Eben Trio since this year. Jiří Bárta spoke about their cooperation, “Terezie plays with great enthusiasm. An ideal pianist for me is not the so-called répétiteur or accompanist but a true partner. On stage I need musicians with whom I can exchange opinions and who enrich me with their creativity and Terezie fully complies with these requirements.” Terezie Fialová also praised her chamber partner, “Playing with Jiří Bárta is very enriching, he has a lot of experience and he is simply a personality.” The ambience of the Masquerade Hall was also inspiring for both musicians as they themselves confirmed. “This hall has beautiful acoustics as well as an amazing atmosphere,” Terezie Fialová appreciated the space. While Jiří Bárta had performed at the International Music Festival Český Krumlov several times before (for example, two years ago he delivered an excellent performance of Bach’s Suites for Solo Cello), for Terezie Fialová, who by coincidence celebrated her thirtieth birthday on that day, it was her debut at the IMF. Both protagonists came back from the festival in Newport in the USA a day before the concert so the concert in Český Krumlov may be considered the conclusion and the high point of their tour.