Prague Spring Festivalโ Ushersโค in 81st Seasonโ with โHannigan and aโ Diverse โProgram
The 81st Prague Springโ International Musicโข Festival is set to unfoldโ from May 12th โto June 4th, marking another year of showcasing world-classโฃ classical music โฃand celebrating Czech artistry. This year’s festival prominently features Scottish singing conductor, Susan Hannigan, who will lead performances of both โค Messiah by Handel โคand St. Matthew Passion by Bach.
Hannigan’s appearances willโ be with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, a group making its debut at Prague Spring and historically led by Czech conductor Rafael kubelรญk during his exile. Currently under the direction of Simon Rattle, the orchestra promises โa significantโ contribution to theโ festival.
The festival will also spotlight a strong contingent of Czech conductors, including Petrโ Popelka, Jakub Hrลฏลก, Tomรกลก Netopil, Tomรกลก Hanus, Vรกclav Luks, and Robert Jindra. โJindra will lead a performance of Jules Massenet’s rarely-performed oratorio, Maria Magdalen.
Pianisticโ highlights include recent Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition winner Eric Lu, the โrenowned Martha Argerich, and the brotherly duo ofโฃ Lucasโฃ and Arthur Jussen. Vocal performances will feature โคinternational stars Aleksandra Kurzakovรก, Elina Garanฤa, Benjamin โขBernheim, and Kang Wang, alongside Czech artists Simona ล aturovรก, Arnheiรฐur Eirรญksdรณttirovรก, and ล tฤpรกnka Puฤรกlkovรก.
Beyond the Bavarianโข Radio Symphony,the festival will welcome esteemed ensembles such as โคthe Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment,the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin,and the Sรคchsische Staatskapelle Dresden,whoโฃ will close the festival with a performance of Verdi’s Requiem. โ Czech orchestras including the Czech Philharmonic, the Prague Philharmonic, and the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra – celebrating its centenary – will also be featured, with the latter performing the opening concert.
This year’s program emphasizes 20th-century European composers like Arnold Schรถnberg, Olivier โMessiaen, Charles Ives, George Gershwin, Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Bรฉla Bartรณk, andโค Francis Poulenc, whose opera Dialogues โคofโฃ the Carmelites will be staged in โcollaboration withโ the Nationalโ Theater under the direction of Barbara Horรกkovรก Jola.
The festival will also explore both 19th-century repertoire and early music, โwithโข a particular focus on the work of Czech composer Jakub Jan Ryba. โTheโค Helsinki Baroqueโข Orchestra, led by Aape Hรคkkinen, will perform Ryba’s Stabat Mater,โ offering a rare opportunity toโค experience the work ofโ a composer primarily known for his Czech Christmas Mass.
A new โvisual identity for the โfestival, designed by Oficina studio under Marko Cimbรกlnรญk, aims to presentโ a diverse musical offering encompassing classical, operatic, contemporary, experimental, โขjazz, and other genres. The selection of a new festival director is currently underway, withโค an announcement expected in early December.