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September 2019
The Greek Passion
The Greek Passion is a passion play within a passion play. At the beginning of the opera, members of a remote community are assigned roles in an Easter performance – including Manolios, who will play Christ, Katerina (Mary Magdalene) and her lover Panait (Judas). However, the sudden arrival of a group of refugees from a nearby conflict divides the community in two: should they be helped or turned away? As events unfold, the boundaries between life and art become blurred…
Find out more »A certain kind of silence
Czech young au pair Mia starts work abroad for a well-off family in a lavish villa. Mia must look after their ten years old son and follows many strange rules of the household. She slowly begins to gradually abandon her morality and her relationships with child entrusted as a result of systematic manipulation. Will be Mia able to get out of the grip of a radical family community? Czech Republic, Netherlands, Latvia 2019, 96 minutes Raindance Film Festival
Find out more »October 2019
The Painted Bird
Film based on Jerzy Kosiński’s 1965 novel and a long time in the making, Václav Marhoul’s extraordinary The Painted Bird finds a lone Jewish boy on a dark odyssey towards home during wartime. A boy (Petr Kotlár) is sent to his aunt to protect him from the Nazis; when she dies unexpectedly, he’s propelled on a bleak journey across Central Europe – from one brutal encounter to the next. Shot in starkly beautiful 35mm black and white by Kolya cinematographer…
Find out more »David Vaughan on Munich, his life story – and Boris Johnson
David Vaughan, a much-loved voice of Radio Prague broadcasts in English, is travelling specially to London to tell us what made him devote his work and life to all things Czech. This visit is rather timely, as it will fall near the anniversary of the Munich agreement and David Vaughan is fascinated with that period: his documentary novel Hear my voice is set in Czechoslovakia in the months prior to the Munich crisis. He will introduce its recent translation into…
Find out more »LSO Discovery Day: Janacek
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 rehearsal time and there is no guarantee that equal rehearsal time will be given to each piece. You will be seated in the Circle. Full…
Find out more »Janacek: Glagolitic Mass
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 – the first using the tale of Wenceslas as a vehicle to celebrate the peaceful regeneration of Czechoslovakia as an independent nation after World War I;…
Find out more »An evening of Slovak Literature
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 feminist writer, social worker and theatre maker and a leading representative of contemporary feminist literary discourse in Slovakia. The Night Circus and other stories published…
Find out more »Czech Roots: London Symphony Orchestra
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 written in tribute to Dvorak after his sudden death in 1904. Tragically, Suk’s wife – Dvorak’s daughter Otilka – died shortly afterwards and the symphony…
Find out more »CS PARTY @ 229 VENUE with MIRO ŽBIRKA
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 MacIntyre Guitar – Robbie McIntosh, Pearse MacIntyre, Rob Cass Keyboards – Pearse MacIntyre Piano – Dean Ross, Jon Hall, George Stewart Percussion – Rob Cass…
Find out more »November 2019
Pavel Haas Quartet
The ensemble took the name of a Czech composer, and continues its commitment to music from his country in this programme, with a work by Erwin Schulhoff alongside a quartet by Smetana. The contemporary Slovak composer L'ubica Cekovska is also represented. L'ubica Cekovska (b.1975) A Midsummer Quartet Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942) String Quartet No. 1 Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884) String Quartet No. 2 in D minor Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) String Quartet No. 3 in E flat minor Op. 30
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