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Current AffairsMagdalena Kozena to present new CD of French arias in Prague
The International Music Festival Autumn Strings begins this Friday at
Prague Castle and one of the main stars will be the internationally
acclaimed Czech mezzo-soprano, Magdalena Kozena. She will open the
festival with songs from her new CD called "French Arias",
conducted by Michel Swierczewsky. Although she is now based in Paris,
Magdalena Kozena told Radio Prague that she is always happy to return
home. Besides, she expects Friday's concert to be rather special:
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MagazineMagazine
A Czech town declares war on bureaucrats, on average every tenth child born
in the Czech Republic has a different biological father than presumed, and
a man gets one million crowns in compensation for unwittingly fathering
twins- find out more in this week's Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.
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Current AffairsDry weather has negative impact on popular pastime of mushroom picking
One of the most popular activities in the Czech Republic at this time of
year is mushroom picking. Or at least it usually is - the long, dry summer
this year has had left the ground very dry and mushrooms hard to find.
It's got so bad that some Czech experts are even going abroad to find
mushrooms. I discussed the situation with Miroslav Smotlacha, who is one
of the leading members of the Czech Mycological Institute.
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ArtsLibor Pesek - Czech conductor and Knight of the British Empire
Hello and welcome to another Encore. Libor Pesek is one of the best known
Czech conductors. A few weeks ago he celebrated his seventieth birthday -
although, with his sheer energy and joie-de-vivre, you have the impression
of a man a good ten years younger. In a career spanning nearly fifty
years, he went from being trombonist in a jazz band, to a celebrated
decade from 1987 to 1997 as chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool
Philharmonic in Britain. For his work with the orchestra, he was made an
honorary Knight of the British Empire, and he remains their conductor
laureate. His great musical love is the Czech turn-of-the century composer
and Dvorak's pupil and son-in-law, Josef Suk. A few days ago I had the
pleasure of joining Libor Pesek for a glass of champagne outside Prague's
Rudolfinum concert hall, and he began our conversation by telling me that
it was thanks to his passion for Suk that he found his way to the
Liverpool Philharmonic.
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WitnessLibor Pesek and the liberators who trod on the flowers
Libor Pesek is one of the best-known and most respected Czech conductors,
famous in the English-speaking world for the ten successful years he spent
in Britain as chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. He
recently celebrated his 70th birthday, but for this week's
"Witness", he looks into his distant past long before his
musical career began, to a childhood memory of the day in 1945 when the
Red Army liberated Prague.
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ArtsSmetana's Litomysl opens for 45th time
On Friday, Smetana's Litomysl International Opera Festival opens for the
45th time. In its history, it has attracted thousands of visitors every
year who have flocked to the little Bohemian town of Litomysl - the
birthplace of composer Bedrich Smetana - to enjoy the best of Czech
classical music, performed by international artists. I spoke to artistic
director Vojtech Stritesky to find out what this year's festival has to
offer:
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ArtsSir Charles Mackerras on his love of Czech music
The 58th International Prague Spring Music Festival ended this week,
featuring many distinguished musicians from all over the world and also
the Czech Republic. As part of the festival, the Czech Philharmonic
Orchestra performed a concert featuring the works of Leos Janacek,
Bohuslav Martinu and Josef Suk, under the baton of the world-renowned
conductor Sir Charles Mackerras. The concert was dedicated to the 120th
anniversary of the birth of Czech conductor Vaclav Talich, who used to be
Sir Charles' mentor back in 1947 when the young musician first came to
Czechoslovakia to study music.
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ArtsFrom Smetana to Zappa: an interview with the director of the Prague Spring international music festival, Roman Belor.
Hello and welcome to another edition of Encore, our monthly programme
devoted to classical music. Now, it's not by chance that I started the
programme with an extract of the Czech Philharmonic performing Smetana's
My Country - one of the potent symbols of the Czech national revival in
the 19th century. My Country is traditionally played at the opening
concert of the Prague Spring international music festival, which begins on
Monday and continues over the next three weeks. 2003 is the festival's
fifty-eighth year, and over the decades the festival has acquired a
reputation as a major event on the international music calendar, at the
same time enjoying the affection of concert goers for its informal
atmosphere. And if you assume that the festival is a conservative,
traditional and solemn event, this year you'll certainly be in for some
surprises. To talk about that and more I'm joined now by the man who has
been directing the Prague Spring for the last two years, Roman Belor.
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ArtsAlexandrov ensemble comes to Prague, Arts news
In today's edition, we'll be looking at some of the cultural events coming
up in the next few days and reflect upon a breathtaking performance by one
of the biggest song and dance ensembles in the world. Stay tuned:
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One on OneAdela Drozdova - violinist and graduate of Prague's prestigious music academy
Adela Drozdova is a charming and most talented violinist who recently
performed a final graduation concert to finish her studies at Prague's
distinguished music academy HAMU, a repertoire that included Baroque works
by Jean Philippe Rameau and Jean-Marie Leclair, as well as contemporary
pieces by Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky. Discussed in this week's
One on One: what it takes to become a professional musician, the London
Symphony Orchestra, and just how aggravating it is when a cell phone
goes off in the middle of a concert.
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