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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241108T100000
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DTSTAMP:20260413T131627
CREATED:20241107T195558Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241107T200629Z
UID:10468-1731060000-1761933600@www.bcsa.co.uk
SUMMARY:Bedřich Smetana Má vlast (My Country)
DESCRIPTION:The Bedřich Smetana Má vlast (My Country) exhibition at the National Museum in Prague commemorates the personality of Bedřich Smetana and one of his most important compositions. Through authentic notes\, correspondence and\, above all\, scores\, it presents the individual symphonic poems as the composer himself conceived them\, the historical context in which they were composed and the reactions that accompanied them at later important historical moments in Czech history. \nIn the exhibition\, you can look forward to unique  items from the National Museum collection displayed in nine thematic stops. At the beginning\, the exhibition will introduce you to the personality of Bedřich Smetana\, whose life you will be able to glimpse through his personal objects\, such as glasses\, a desk\, writing utensils\, a calamus\, a peephole or a hearing aid. The second stop will immerse you in the time and circumstances in which the My Country cycle was created between 1874 and 1879 and will also remind you of the first ensemble performance on 5 November 1882 at Žofín in Prague. Other parts of the exhibition are devoted to the six individual poems – Vyšehrad\, Vltava\, Šárka\, From the Czech Meadows and Groves\, Tábor and Blaník. You will learn\, for example\, that the score for Vltava was written in 19 days\, when he added the note “being completely deaf” to the score. The ninth stop recalls performances of the work associated with important historical moments. \nIn addition to the composer’s personal objects\, you will be able to see various musical materials and sheet music\, photographs\, sculptures\, paintings\, letters\, books\, illustrations\, musical instruments – for example\, there will be a harp to play. The exhibition also includes historical artefacts such as replicas of Hussite weapons from the 19th century.  My Homeland in Stones is also on display\, so you will be able to touch rocks from Blaník or pebbles from the Vltava River. Of course\, the exhibition also focuses on the sound experience. It includes a listening map of the Vltava and audio islands with entire symphonic poems. The central themes can be heard in short excerpts. \n  \nPart of the Year of Czech Music and the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
URL:https://www.bcsa.co.uk/event/bedrich-smetana-ma-vlast-my-country/
LOCATION:National Museum Prague\, Václavské náměstí 68\, Prague\, Czech Republic
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bcsa.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Smetana-exhibition.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250903T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251004T170000
DTSTAMP:20260413T131627
CREATED:20250820T144117Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250820T144217Z
UID:11550-1756893600-1759597200@www.bcsa.co.uk
SUMMARY:Toyen: dreaming in the margins
DESCRIPTION:Richard Saltoun Gallery presents Dreaming in the Margins: Toyen\, the first UK exhibition devoted to one of the most extraordinary women artists of the Surrealist movement\, whose reputation and critical reappraisal have risen dramatically in recent years. Recognized one of the most enigmatic and fiercely independent figures in Surrealism\, Toyen (1902–1980) was born Marie Čermínová in Prague. She adopted a gender-neutral identity early in life\, rejecting societal conventions – a position reflected throughout her work and public persona. \nToyen was a central figure in both the pre war formation of Surrealism in Prague with the Devestil Group and later in post war Paris with the Surrealists. Her workin Prague with Jindřich Štyrský\, and later with Jindřich Heisler\, were regarded by André Breton as quintessential contributions to the Surrealist movement. Their friendship and creative exchange endured until his death\, after which Toyen moved into his former studio at 42 Rue Fontaine\, where she lived until her own death in 1980. \nThis exhibition brings into focus the depth and breadth of Toyen’s graphic work – including illustrated books\, prints\, drawings\, catalogues and archival materials – making it one of the most comprehensive presentations of this part of her oeuvre ever compiled. The exhibits are drawn entirely from a single-owner collection. \nWith the outbreak of the Second World War\, Toyen remained in Nazi-occupied Prague. Following the death of Štyrský in 1942\, she entered into a close creative and personal partnership with the poet Jindřich Heisler\, who was living in hiding as a Jewish writer. Toyen sheltered Heisler in her apartment for the entire war – an act of profound solidarity and resistance. In 1947\, Toyen relocated permanently to Paris with Heisler\, and became one of the few women deeply involved in Surrealism’s post war resurgence. In the final two decades of her life\, Toyen formed a deep artistic and intellectual bond with the poet\, philosopher and fellow Surrealist\, Annie Le Brun. \nFree entry. Opening times: Tues-Fri\, 10am-6pm\, Saturdays 11am-5pm.  \nImage copyright the estate of the artist
URL:https://www.bcsa.co.uk/event/toyen-dreaming-in-the-margins/
LOCATION:Richard Saltoun Gallery\, 41 Dover Street\, London\, W1S 4NS\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bcsa.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Toyen.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250920T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250920T210000
DTSTAMP:20260413T131627
CREATED:20250413T163302Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250413T163302Z
UID:11055-1758394800-1758402000@www.bcsa.co.uk
SUMMARY:Jakub Hrůša and Friends
DESCRIPTION:New Music Director of The Royal Opera Jakub Hrůša leads the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in a rich programme of Czech and Hungarian music. From the hallucinatory orchestral colours of Béla Bartók’s scandalous Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin\, to Antonín Dvořák’s rarely-heard cantata for soloists and chorus\, The Spectre’s Bride\, an evening of extraordinary musical storytelling awaits. Don’t miss this chance to see the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House centre stage in a thrilling programme of concert works. \nTwo macabre musical tales \nShocking\, scandalous\, and a masterclass in orchestration\, Béla Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin created a sensation when it was first performed as a ballet in 1926. A young woman dances in a window\, luring men to a violent death. What begins as a sordid tale of sex and murder turns into something altogether more sinister\, when her final victim demands satisfaction – from beyond the grave…  Arranged in 1928\, this orchestral Suite condenses the ballet’s lurid tale\, stopping short of the story’s bloody consummation\, whilst still retaining the score’s hallucinogenic vividness. \nAntonín Dvořák’s cantata\, The Spectre’s Bride\, tells the macabre tale of a young bride-to-be who is kidnapped by a ghost she believes to be her lover. Composed in 1884\, and based on a poem by Karel Jaromír Erben (whose folktales inspired Dvořák’s much-loved opera\, Rusalka)\, this rarely-performed work for soloists\, chorus and orchestra depicts the bride’s wild ride through a hellish night – but as dawn breaks\, order is restored. Alongside the Royal Opera Chorus\, a trio of Czech soloists (Kateřina Kněžíková and Pavol Kubáň in their Royal Opera debuts\, and Pavel Černoch) bring this spectacular tale to life. \ngeneral booking opens 2 July 2025
URL:https://www.bcsa.co.uk/event/jakub-hrusa-and-friends/
LOCATION:Royal Opera House
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.bcsa.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/hrusa.jpg
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