Czech cellist Frantisek Brikcius will present cello works by leading composers from Prague and Brno. You will hear Fantasie and Rondo (1982) by composer Jiri Matys, Metall Sonata (1983) by cellist, artist and composer Petr Hejny, Dilema (1987) by film composer Jan Jirasek, Sonata (1987) by music and film composer Lubos Fiser, Dances of King... Read more »

London premiere of music documentary film MAKANNA, together with a live cello performance and film introduction. Based on the novel of the Jewish writer Jiri Weil (1900 - 1959), from the concert performance of the ballet MAKANNA, composed by composer Irena Kosikova for voice (Jan Zidlicky), solo cello (Frantisek Brikcius) and orchestra (Jan Talich -... Read more »

Attend a morning rehearsal of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner at the Barbican followed by talks and chamber music in the afternoon at LSO St Luke's. The full schedule will be posted two weeks before the event. Please note that the conductor may choose to not use the full... Read more »

Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the London Symphony Orchestra bring together three works that define the ‘Czech sound’, by composers who drew their material from Czech history, legends and landscapes – Dvoak and Janacek. Janacek’s Ballad of Blanik and Dvorak’s Golden Spinning Wheel are both symphonic poems that take Czech legends as their inspiration –... Read more »

An evening talk and recital. Samantha Crawford and Lada Valesova explore the female roles in the operas of the great Czech composers, Dvorak, Janacek and Smetana. During this entertaining and illuminating evening they will perform highlights and discuss the music and characterisation in depth. Afterwards there are limited spaces for a dinner with these two... Read more »

Slovak writers' tour 22 -25 October - Manchester, Oxford, Cambridge, London Join a panel of renowned authors chaired by Diana Vonnak for a celebration of modern Slovak literature. Ursula Kovalyk, Ivana Dobrakovova and Balla will discuss their award-winning works of fiction. Also taking part will be their English translator, Julia Sherwood. Ursula Kovalyk is a... Read more »

Composers pouring their most personal thoughts and feelings into their work is not unusual, but these two pieces by Dvorak and Suk feel much more deeply connected than most. Dvorak and Suk had a very long and close relationship as father-in-law and son-in-law. Suk’s Second Symphony, ‘Asrael’, named for the Hebrew Angel of Death, was... Read more »

Miro Žbirka – a living legend of Slovak and Czech popular music is celebrating his 40 year-long music career with concerts in London, Prague and Bratislava. Don't miss this greatest hits show supported by Abbey Road Studio musicians with whom he recorded his last two albums. Drums – Blair Cunningham Bass – Hamish Stewart, Pearse... Read more »

As contemporary politics drift closer to totalitarianism, historiography from scholars and thinkers who have experienced twentieth-century totalitarian regimes is more important than ever. A professor of legal philosophy Jiri Priban and Pavel Seifter, historian and former Czech Ambassador to the UK, search for the roots of contemporary problems in our past, examining how we navigate... Read more »