British Czech and Slovak Association

“Get to know you” social evening
2024-03-13 19:00 - 22:00, 2024-02-14 19:00 - 22:00 (Europe/London) | Bohemia House, 74 West End Lane, London, NW6 2LX, United Kingdom
This is an opportunity for anyone interested in the British Czech and Slovak Association (members, supporters and friends) to meet, eat, drink, chat (maybe practise your Czech or Slovak) and get to know each other in a relaxed and informal setting.
Everyone interested in Czech and/or Slovak matters is most welcome to join us.
We will be in one of the rooms at Bohemia House, normally the first room on the left.
Food and drinks are available for purchase.
West Hampstead has three stations served by the Jubilee line, Overground and Thameslink.

Smetana Unveiled
2024-03-12 19:00 - 21:00 | Czech Embassy cinema, 26 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
Join us to celebrate the bicentenary of Bedřich Smetana, the Czech composer whose melodies have echoed through generations and whose music includes the enchanting cycle of symphonic poems My Country and the popular opera The Bartered Bride.
Delve into Smetana’s fascinating journey with us as we explore his tumultuous life, his unwavering nationalist spirit, and his enduring impact on the Czech musical heritage.
From the heartrending strains of his orchestral works to the poignant tales woven into his operas, Smetana’s oeuvre captures the essence of Czech identity and resilience.
Our distinguished panel of experts, including Jan Smaczny, emeritus professor at Queen’s University Belfast, Dr. Thomas Jaermann, composer and musicologist, and Sandra Bergmannová, Director of the Bedřich Smetana Museum, will reveal the mysteries behind Smetana’s life and work.
Tomáš Hanus, Music Director of Welsh National Opera will discuss (via ZOOM from Brno) the latest production of Smetana’s opera Dalibor, directed by Sir David Pountney in Brno which he conducted.
Chaired by John Allison, Editor of Opera magazine.

Tickets @ £6.13 via Eventbrie link below
Part of the Year of Czech Music and Smetana 2024.
In collaboration with the Czech Tourism.
SPEAKERS:
Sandra Bergmannová
Sandra Bergmannová is the Head of the Bedřich Smetana Museum – National Museum in Prague. She is one of the main authors of the exhibition Famous Czech Composers (2020-2022) and the books of the same name in Czech and English. In the research on the life and work of Bedřich Smetana she specializes on creating of the online catalogue of works and is head of the project of the critical edition of the 3rd volume of Smetana’s correspondence (1875-1879). Previously she worked as a musicologist at the Bohuslav Martinů Institute in Prague, where she stood at the beginning of the crucial projects, such as: digitisation of Bohuslav Martinů’s works, Martinů database online, and Bohuslav Martinů Complete Critical Edition.
Tomáš Hanus
Tomáš Hanus, Music Director of the Welsh National Opera, is recognised as one of the Czech Republic’s most exciting and important conductors. He has conducted at major European opera houses including the Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Royal Danish Opera, Oslo Opera House, Teatro Real Madrid and the Teatro alla Scala. In demand as a conductor of symphonic music, he has conducted many prestigious orchestras including the LSO, SWR Symphonieorchester Baden-Baden, Czech Philharmonic, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He opened the 2023 Prague Spring Festival with WNO Orchestra with Smetana’s Ma Vlast. In February 2024 Tomáš returned to the Brno Theatre with a new production of Dalibor.
Dr Thomas Jaermann
Originally from Zurich, Switzerland, Dr Thomas Jaermann obtained a PhD in musicology from the University of Zurich for his research on music and national identity. His postdoctoral research resulted in the award of the inaugural Recognition Prize from the G. A. Derungs Foundation for his compilation of a catalogue of the complete works by Swiss composer Gion A. Derungs. Since moving to the UK, Thomas has taught music and German at independent schools in the London and South East areas. His current research involves the life and work of composer Bedřich Smetana and his most recent invited paper on Smetana was presented as part of the 2023 international conference on Bedřich Smetana and European Opera in Litomyšl, and is due to be published in 2024. Thomas also composes music including piano, chamber music and orchestral film scores.
Jan Smaczny
Jan Smaczny is well known as an authority on many aspects of Czech music. His publications include books on Dvorak’s B-minor Cello Concerto, the repertoire of the Prague Provisional Theatre, many articles, chapters and major encyclopaedia entries on Czech music and culture as well as edited volumes on Irish Music and Bach’s B-minor Mass. Jan is a graduate of Oxford University and studied for two years at the Music Faculty of the Charles University, Prague. He is the Sir Hamilton Harty Professor of Music Emeritus at Queen’s University, Belfast.
Chair:
John Allison
John Allison is Editor of Opera and Music Critic on The Daily Telegraph. He has written for leading newspapers around the world, including the New York Times, and is a regular contributor to BBC Music Magazine. He is the author of two books (Edward Elgar: Sacred Music and The Pocket Companion to Opera), and has contributed articles to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and New Penguin Opera Guide, as well as several chapters to other books. He edited the Glyndebourne Festival programmes from 2000 to 2012 and now acts in a similar capacity for Wexford Festival Opera. A jury member at many international music competitions, he also co-founded the International Opera Awards in 2013

Theresienstadt-Terezín 1941-1945
2024-03-09 19:30 - 21:30 | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP, United Kingdom
Ullman and Krása – students of Schoenberg and Zemlinsky respectively – feature in this programme alongside the so-called ‘father’ of Czech nationalist music, Smetana. Krása’s Brundibár was performed an astonishing 55 times in Terezín, carefully arranged by its composer for the forces available in the camp.
Viktor Ullman (1898-1944) String Quartet No. 3 Op. 46
Bedřich Smetana (1824-84) Piano Trio in G minor Op. 15
Hans Krása (1899-1944) Suite from Brundibár (arranged for piano, flute, clarinet, trumpet, string quartet and percussion)
Selection from songs by Ilse Weber, Adolf Strauss, Carlo Sigmund Taube, Hans Krása and more

NASH ENSEMBLE

Philip Moore piano

Benjamin Nabarro violin

Jonathan Stone violin

Lawrence Power viola

Adrian Brendel cello

Chris Brannick percussion

Konstantin Krimmel baritone

General sale for this concert will open at 10:00AM on Tuesday 3 October.

Theresienstadt-Terezín 1941-1945
2024-03-09 17:30 - 18:30 | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP, United Kingdom
This concert brings together string chamber works by four of the most artistically active composers who spent time in Terezín. Klein, Krása and Domažlický all wrote their pieces at the camp, whilst Haas’s Janáček-inspired Second Quartet dates from the 1920s.
Gideon Klein (1919-1945) String Trio
František Domažlický (1913-1997) Song without Words for string quartet
Hans Krása (1899-1944) Tanec for string trio
Pavel Haas (1899-1944) String Quartet No. 2 Op. 7 ‘From the Monkey Mountains’ for string quartet and percussion

Nash Ensemble

Benjamin Nabarro violin

Jonathan Stone violin

Lawrence Power viola

Adrian Brendel cello

Chris Brannick percussion

General sale for this concert will open at 10:00AM on Tuesday 3 October.

Theresienstadt-Terezín 1941-1945
2024-03-09 15:00 - 17:00 | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP, United Kingdom
This focus session on the composers sent to Terezín in the 1940s includes a talk by writer and broadcaster Simon Broughton, a filmed interview with holocaust survivor Zdenka Fantlová, and a screening of the award-winning film The Music of Terezín.
Theresienstadt – or Terezín to give it its Czech name – was a Nazi camp where inmates were allowed to stage a whole range of entertainment for visitors. In reality the prisoners were starved, suffered hard labour and disease, and struggled for survival. The Nash Ensemble seeks to offer a reminder of these struggles through the presentation of films and talks, a children’s art exhibition, and the performance of works by composers whose exceptional talent was so cruelly cut short.
This event will take place in the Wigmore Hall Learning Room.
General sale for this event will open at 10:00AM on Tuesday 3 October.

A Tale of Three Grandmothers: Božena Němcová in her time and ours
2024-02-22 18:30 - 20:30 | Czech Embassy, 26-30 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
Božena Němcová’s ‘Babička’ is one of the best-loved works of Czech literature. She herself was a prominent figure in 19th-century literary circles and the National Revival despite the disadvantages which she faced as a woman writer and in a troubled personal life. Susan Reynolds will consider the two existing translations into English (1891 and 1962), the challenges of preparing a new one, and changing perceptions of Němcová’s life and work in the 21st century. Susan has recently completed a new translation of Božena Němcová’s ‘Babička’ for Jantar Publishing.

Susan Reynolds was appointed as curator of Czech and Slovak at the British Library in 2004 and now works in its department of Research Services. She has lectured and published on Czech cultural links with France and Germany, and her publications include translations of Karel Jaromír Erben’s ‘Kytice’ (2013), the Adorno-Kracauer correspondence (2020) and a chapter in ‘Racine’s Roman Tragedies’ (2022).

This event will take place in person and will also be livestreamed.
BCSA members enjoy free entry but registration is essential via Eventbrite. Non-members £10, full-time students £5.
All proceeds from this event will go to the BCSA School Support Fund established in 2004 to provide support for English language skills in Czech and Slovak schools and other educational institutions. For more information about our fund, see https://www.bcsa.co.uk/school-support-fund/
Light refreshments will be provided.

The Awakening of Czech National Consciousness
2024-02-13 18:30 - 20:30 | Czech Embassy cinema, 26 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
This illustrated talk will trace the great cultural and intellectual revival that began in the early years of the 19th century with a key moment being the foundation in 1818 of ‘The Society of the Patriotic Museum in Bohemia’. In the second half of the century the nationalist movement gathered momentum and found its expression in works of art and architecture, literature and music, culminating in the foundation of the new Czecho-Slovak Republic.
Caroline Cannon-Brookes is an art historian, trained at the Courtauld Institute and a former lecturer in the University of Oxford, Department for Continuing Education. She has led many tours to the Czech Republic to which she is a regular visitor.
Tickets £15 (includes a glass of wine following the talk)
Register via Eventbrite link below
All proceeds raised go towards the care and conservation of Czech heritage.
Image: The František Palacký Monument (1912) by Stanislav Sucharda, in Prague’s New Town. Two groups of sculptures wage a battle between the forces of good and evil.
© Elis J, Creative Commons Wikimedia.

Pavel Haas Quartet
2024-02-12 19:30 - 21:30 | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP, United Kingdom
The Czech ensemble presents a celebration of composers from their homeland.
Martinů String Quartet No.3
Kaprálová String Quartet No.1, Op. 8
Dvořák String Quartet No.11 in C major, Op.61C
The quartet is based in Prague and studied with the late Milan Škampa, the legendary violist of the Smetana Quartet. They take their name from the Czech-Jewish composer Pavel Haas (1899–1944) who was imprisoned at Theresienstadt in 1941 and tragically died at Auschwitz three years later. His legacy includes three wonderful string quartets.

Pavel Haas Quartet
2024-02-11 14:30 - 16:30 | Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BP, United Kingdom

From My Homeland concert 10
2024-02-11 11:30 - 12:30 | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP, United Kingdom
Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) From My Homeland for violin and piano
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) Piano Quartet No. 2 in E flat Op. 87
Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) Suite from La revue de cuisine

NASH ENSEMBLE

Simon Crawford-Phillips piano

Stephanie Gonley violin

Lars Anders Tomter viola

Richard Hosford clarinet

Ursula Leveaux bassoon

Philip Cobb trumpet

Three generations of Czech music feature in this lively programme. Smetana’s late, quasi-operatic violin pieces From My Homeland are followed by Dvořák’s vibrant second Piano Quartet; and from Martinů comes a drama of kitchen utensils in the brilliantly witty La Revue de Cuisine.

General sale for this concert will open at 10.00am on Tuesday 10 October

The regions of Bohemia and Moravia endured political, military and linguistic control by multiple nations and governments in the 19th and 20th centuries. ‘From My Homeland’ showcases some of the most vibrant, imaginative and unusual works written in the 1800s and 1900s, as well as music by Johannes Brahms – friend and champion of Antonín Dvořák.
The series (October 2023 to March 2024) also includes a day of concerts, films and talks dedicated to the victims of the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp between 1941-45.
illustration: Moravian Teachers’ Choir poster by Alphonse Mucha

From My Homeland concert 9
2024-02-10 19:30 - 21:30 | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP, United Kingdom
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)

Waltz in A Op. 54 No. 1

Waltz in D flat Op. 54 No. 4

String Sextet in A Op. 48

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Clarinet Quintet in B minor Op. 115

NASH ENSEMBLE
Stephanie Gonley violin

Jonathan Stone violin

Lars Anders Tomter viola

Rachel Roberts viola

Adrian Brendel cello

Gemma Rosefield cello

Richard Hosford clarinet

Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet was written for a virtuoso whom he teasingly described as his ‘Prima donna’. Its rich lyricism makes for a perfect pairing with Dvořák’s Sextet, which features several hat-tips to his good friend Brahms.

General sale for this concert will open at 10.00am on Tuesday 10 October

The regions of Bohemia and Moravia endured political, military and linguistic control by multiple nations and governments in the 19th and 20th centuries. ‘From My Homeland’ showcases some of the most vibrant, imaginative and unusual works written in the 1800s and 1900s, as well as music by Johannes Brahms – friend and champion of Antonín Dvořák.
The series (October 2023 to March 2024) also includes a day of concerts, films and talks dedicated to the victims of the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp between 1941-45.
illustration: Moravian Teachers’ Choir poster by Alphonse Mucha

From My Homeland concert 8
2024-02-10 17:30 - 18:30 | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP, United Kingdom
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) Selection from Slavonic Dances (for piano duet)
Josef Suk (1874-1935) Piano Trio in C minor Op. 2
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Horn Trio in E flat Op. 40

NASH ENSEMBLE

Simon Crawford-Phillips piano
Alasdair Beatson piano
Stephanie Gonley violin
Adrian Brendel cello
Richard Watkins horn

Josef Suk was just 17 when he completed his Piano Trio – whilst studying with Dvořák, later to become his father-in-law. Suk’s passionate Trio is paired here with Brahms’s chamber showpiece for horn, and a selection of Dvořák’s famous Slavonic Dances.
General sale for this concert will open at 10.00am on Tuesday 10 October

The regions of Bohemia and Moravia endured political, military and linguistic control by multiple nations and governments in the 19th and 20th centuries. ‘From My Homeland’ showcases some of the most vibrant, imaginative and unusual works written in the 1800s and 1900s, as well as music by Johannes Brahms – friend and champion of Antonín Dvořák.
The series (October 2023 to March 2024) also includes a day of concerts, films and talks dedicated to the victims of the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp between 1941-45.
illustration: Moravian Teachers’ Choir poster by Alphonse Mucha

Santini and his world of architecture
2024-02-01 09:00 - 2024-02-24 18:00 | National Technical Museum, Kostelní 42, Prague 7, 170 78, Czech Republic
An exhibition to mark 300 years since the death of Jan Blažej Santini Aichel. The Prague-born architect of Italian origin is known for his Baroque Gothic style. Among his most famous works is the church of St John of Nepomuk on Zelená Hora which has UNESCO World Heritage status.
He died in Prague on 7 December 1723 aged 46.
closed on Mondays
Find out more in this article 300 years since death of great Czech architect Jan Blažej Santini Aichel | Radio Prague International
photo: Martina Schneibergová, Radio Prague International

Spiral stabilization exercise method
2024-01-30 18:30 - 20:30 | Czech Embassy cinema, 26 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
An exercise method invented by a Czech medical doctor that can be used by anyone who wishes to improve their posture, treat back pain, prevent injuries, maintain good health and sports conditioning. It is suitable for adults of all ages as well as athletes and children. The exercises can be done comfortably at home or under the supervision of a therapist.
Therapist Jana Mitačková of Spiral Stabilization UK will demonstrate some of the exercises and answer your questions afterwards.
This event will take place in person and will also be livestreamed.
Light refreshments will be provided.
BCSA members enjoy free entry but registration via Eventbrite is essential. Non-members £10, full-time students £5. See booking link below.
All proceeds from this event will go to the BCSA School Support Fund established in 2004 to provide support for English language skills in Czech and Slovak schools and other educational institutions. For more information about our fund see https://www.bcsa.co.uk/school-support-fund/

Bohumil Hrabal: Pearls of the Deep
2024-01-23 19:00 - 21:00 | Czech Embassy cinema, 26 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
Pearls of the Deep is one of the delights of the 1960s Czechoslovak New Wave. Based on stories by Bohumil Hrabal, the film is a compendium of five films each demonstrating the differing styles of five emerging filmmakers: Jiří Menzel, Jan Němec, Evald Schorm, Věra Chytilová, and Jaromil Jireš.
Each vignette (Mr Balthazar’s Death; The Imposters; The House of Joy; The Restaurant The World; Romance) displays unique approaches to Hrabal’s multi-faceted tales of ordinary people and odd obsessions.
With an introduction by Mehelli Modi.
Second Run presents the world Blu-ray premiere of Pearls of the Deep from a brand new 4K restoration.

From My Homeland concert 7
2024-01-13 19:30 - 21:30 | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP, United Kingdom
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) Selection from Cypresses for string quartet
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Sextet No. 1 in B flat Op. 18
Josef Suk (1874-1935) Meditation on an old Bohemian Chorale (St Wenceslas) for string quartet Op. 35a
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) Piano Trio in E minor Op. 90 ‘Dumky’

NASH ENSEMBLE

Alisdair Beatson piano

Stephanie Gonley violin

Jonathan Stone violin

Lars Anders Tomter viola

Rachel Roberts viola

Adrian Brendel cello

Gemma Rosefield cello

In musical reflections old and new, this concert combines Dvořák’s instrumental reworking of youthful love songs with Brahms’ first large-scale string chamber work and Suk’s tender Meditation on ‘Saint Wenceslas’. The brilliant fireworks of Dvořák’s ‘Dumky’ Trio complete the programme.

General sale for this concert will open at 10.00am on Tuesday 10 October.
The regions of Bohemia and Moravia endured political, military and linguistic control by multiple nations and governments in the 19th and 20th centuries. ‘From My Homeland’ showcases some of the most vibrant, imaginative and unusual works written in the 1800s and 1900s, as well as music by Johannes Brahms – friend and champion of Antonín Dvořák.
The series (October 2023 to March 2024) also includes a day of concerts, films and talks dedicated to the victims of the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp between 1941-45.
illustration: Moravian Teachers’ Choir poster by Alphonse Mucha

Janáček's Jenůfa
2024-01-11 19:00 - 2024-01-14 19:00 | Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS, United Kingdom
Janáček’s searing opera explores a woman’s limited options in a suffocating small town. Jenůfa is pregnant, but she isn’t married. In her mountain village, this means disgrace, or even death. Her stepmother, Kostelnička, wants to help her, but what should she do?

Janáček pondered his characters’ predicament for many years. The opera he eventually completed is a blazing vision of human suffering and redemption, rooted in the rhythms of everyday life.
London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Simon Rattle conductor
Asmik Grigorian Jenůfa
Katarina Karnéus Kostelnička
Aleš Briscein Laca
Nicky Spence Steva
Jan Martiník Starek the Foreman/Mayor
Carole Wilson Grandmother Buryjovka
Claire Barnett-Jones Barena/Herdswoman
London Symphony Chorus

"Get to know you" social evening
2024-01-10 19:00 - 22:00 | Bohemia House, 74 West End Lane, London, NW6 2LX, United Kingdom

National Theatre Prague: its origins & development
2023-12-19 18:30 - 20:00
An online Zoom event, free for everyone.
Jana Marková explores the establishment of a Czech National Theatre in Prague, its interior and the importance of its work today.
Jana is an official guide of the National Theatre, the Estates Theatre and the State Opera. She is the founder and owner of the Absolutely Prague Travel Agency.
Registration is essential via the Eventbrite link below.

One Life
2023-12-10 17:30 - 19:30 | Curzon Soho, 99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 5DY, United Kingdom
The 27th Made in Prague Festival Closing Gala is a preview screening of the upcoming highly anticipated 2023 biographical drama One Life plus Q&A with director James Hawes (tbc)

Directed by James Hawes, the film tells the true story of Sir Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Winton, a young London broker played by Johnny Flynn, who, along with Trevor Chadwick (played by Alex Sharp) and Doreen Warriner (played by Romola Garai) of the British Committee for Refugees in Czechoslovakia, rescued 669 children from the Nazis in the months leading up to World War II. Fifty years later, it’s 1988 and Nicky (played by Anthony Hopkins) lives haunted by the fate of the children he wasn’t able to bring to safety in England; always blaming himself for not doing more. It’s not until a live BBC television show, ‘That’s Life!’, surprises him by introducing him to some surviving children – now adults – that he finally begins to come to terms with the guilt and grief he had carried for five decades.
Director: James Hawes, screenwriters Lucinda Coxon, Nick Drake, UK 2023, 109‘
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Johnny Flynn, Helena Bonham Carter, Jonathan Pryce, Romola Garai
ONE LIFE is in UK and Ireland cinemas from 5 January 2024
Courtesy of Warner Bros
BOOKING LINK COMING SOON

Tomáš Vaněk and guests: Christmas concert
2023-12-09 20:00 - 21:30 | Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL, United Kingdom
A selection of Christmas classics, traditional carols and musical hits in Czech, Slovak and English. Tomáš will be joined by a specially formed children’s choir featuring students from Czech and English schools across London and nearby counties. Plus performances of traditional Slovak folk dances by the children’s folklore ensemble Sovička.
The children’s choir highlights partnerships with charities, voluntary-run organisations and institutions such as the Czech School Without Borders, the Czech School Berkshire, Czech and Slovak School Okénko, Czech School Surrey and Czech and Slovak Club Oxford.
Tomáš Vaněk is a Czech performer, actor and singer.
See booking link below, doors open at 7pm

From My Homeland concert 6
2023-12-09 19:30 - 21:30 | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP, United Kingdom
Josef Suk (1874-1935) Piano Quartet in A minor Op. 1

Johannes Brahms (1833-97) Six songs arranged by David Matthew for baritone & ensemble

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) Intermezzo in B for strings

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) String Quintet in G Op. 111

Roderick Williams joins the Nash Ensemble in this programme of music by close friends. Dvořák’s tender Intermezzo for strings features, along with his son-in-law Josef Suk’s passionate First Piano Quartet. And we hear songs and a sunny String Quintet from Brahms, Dvořák’s energetic Viennese advocate.

Nash Ensemble

Simon Crawford-Phillips piano

Philippa Davies flute

Richard Hosford clarinet

Ursula Leveaux bassoon

Stephen Waarts violin

Jonathan Stone violin

Lawrence Power viola

Adrian Brendel cello

Graham Mitchell double bass

Roderick Williams baritone

see booking link below
The regions of Bohemia and Moravia endured political, military and linguistic control by multiple nations and governments in the 19th and 20th centuries. ‘From My Homeland’ showcases some of the most vibrant, imaginative and unusual works written in the 1800s and 1900s, as well as music by Johannes Brahms – friend and champion of Antonín Dvořák.
The series (October 2023 to March 2024) also includes a day of concerts, films and talks dedicated to the victims of the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp between 1941-45.
illustration: Moravian Teachers’ Choir poster by Alphonse Mucha

From My Homeland concert 5
2023-12-09 17:30 - 18:30 | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP, United Kingdom
Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942) Divertissement for oboe, clarinet and bassoon

Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) Sextet for piano and wind instruments

Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) Mládí (Youth) for wind sextet

This lively programme explores Czech music of the 1920s: Erwin Schulhoff’s wind Divertissement and Martinů’s sunny Sextet are infused with edgy jazz harmonies and dance rhythms. Janáček, four decades their senior, looks back to his own childhood in Mládí.

Nash Ensemble

Simon Crawford-Phillips piano

Philippa Davies flute

Gareth Hulse oboe

Richard Hosford clarinet

Marie Lloyd bass clarinet

Ursula Leveaux bassoon

Richard Watkins horn

see booking link below
The regions of Bohemia and Moravia endured political, military and linguistic control by multiple nations and governments in the 19th and 20th centuries. ‘From My Homeland’ showcases some of the most vibrant, imaginative and unusual works written in the 1800s and 1900s, as well as music by Johannes Brahms – friend and champion of Antonín Dvořák.
The series (October 2023 to March 2024) also includes a day of concerts, films and talks dedicated to the victims of the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp between 1941-45.
illustration: Moravian Teachers’ Choir poster by Alphonse Mucha

A Fresh Look at the Czech New Wave
2023-12-05 18:30 - 20:30 | Czech Embassy cinema, 26 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
A talk by Mark Le Fanu about some of the most beautiful films in modern history.
Throughout the decade of the 1960s, Czechoslovakia released (and occasionally held back for political reasons) some of the most beautiful films in modern cinema history. Movies such as ‘Closely Observed Trains’ (Jiri Menzel), ‘Intimate Lighting’ (Ivan Passer), ‘A Blonde in Love’ (Milos Forman) are canonical works, celebrated everywhere where film is loved for their wisdom, understatement and irony. Any attempt to revisit the Czech New Wave will need to spend some time on the classics, and to try to say a few new things about them. Yet what really characterised the movement as a whole was its extraordinary depth and variety.

As the writer Josef Škvorecký puts it in his wonderful personal history of Czech cinema ‘All the Bright Young Men and Women’ (1971):

“No movement is adequately described by a simple enumeration of its major personalities…The group of young people who moved the Barrandov mountain was larger than the world might imagine, including artists who are unknown to the world, either due to bad luck, or because they worked for a long time as ‘mere’ screenplay writers, before they began directing.”

As well as glancing at greats such as Menzel, Forman, Chytilová, Němec and Schorm, the talk proposes to take a look at this ‘second layer’ of Czech directing talent whom Skvorecký refers to – artists such as František Vláčil, Vojtěch Jasný, Pavel Juráček, Karel Kachyňa, Jaromil Jireš, along with a handful of interesting and underrated Slovak directors such as Juraj Jakobisko, Peter Solan and Štefan Uher.

Mark Le Fanu is a London-based film historian who has written books on Tarkovsky, on Mizoguchi and on the contribution made to European cinema by the depleted tradition of Christianity (‘Believing in Film’, Bloomsbury, 2019). Essays by him on individual classic films can be found on criterion.com

Tickets £15 each including a glass of wine see booking link below

Image: promotional material © Barrandov Studios ‘Loves of a Blonde’, ‘Closely Observed Trains’, ‘The Cremator’, ‘The House on the Main Street’

Oddsockeaters
2023-11-26 14:00 - 17:00 | Czech Embassy cinema, 26 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
Welcome to the adventurous world of Oddsockeaters, mischievous creatures responsible for socks that go missing. This is a secret society with only two rules – never take the full pair and don´t get caught! Courage is required and young Hugo has plenty of it. When his grandpa dies, he moves in with his gangster uncle ‘Big Boss’ and two crazy cousins.
Set against the backdrop of a gangster story involving two feuding gangs of oddsockeaters, this is a heart-warmingly comical story based on the bestselling books by Pavel Šrut with illustrations by Galina Miklínová, who has turned the books into a fantastic 3D family animation and a big domestic hit.
The film will be screened in Czech with English subtitles. Recommended age: 6+
Followed by a workshop with Galina Miklínová.
Admission: £7 (+ Eventbrite fee) see booking link below
Part of the 27th Made in Prague Festival. For full programme details see 27th Made in Prague Festival / Czech Centre London (czechcentres.cz)

BCSA/CBCC annual dinner
2023-11-24 18:30 - 23:00 | The May Fair Hotel, Stratton Street, London, W1J 8LT, United Kingdom
Join us for our second annual dinner held with the Czech British Chamber of Commerce at the May Fair Hotel, Stratton Street, London (nearest underground Green Park).
This highlight in the BCSA calendar is a wonderful opportunity for Slovaks, Czechs and Britons to mingle in a convivial atmosphere, to meet old friends and make new ones.
If you are a newcomer to the BCSA or to London, we would like to extend a special invitation and welcome you into our friendly community. Kindly note that you may request seating at a table with your friends.
Keynote speakers:
Sir Michael Burton, former British Ambassador in Prague
Petr Kovařík, CVO Prague Chocolatier, Steiner & Kovarik
The winner of the BCSA’s annual writing competition will be announced and you might win an exciting prize in the raffle including:
Buxton Crescent Hotel two nights bed & breakfast (donated by CP Holdings Hotel Division)
Hotel Hills or Horizont Resort two nights half board in Stará Lesná, High Tatra Mountains, Slovakia (donated by Dr Jan Telensky)
Nové Lázně two nights bed & breakfast in Mariánské Lázně, Czechia (donated by CP Holdings Hotel Division)
Thermia Palace two nights bed & breakfast in Piešt’any, Slovakia (donated by CP Holdings Hotel Division)

Ticket prices include a glass of sparkling wine upon arrival, a three-course set dinner with a half a bottle of wine, still/sparkling water, coffee/tea.
· Members £ 77.50
· Non members £ 90.00
· Students £ 65.00
· Non members group (5 or more) £77.50

See booking link below – final date 21 November

From My Homeland concert 4
2023-11-18 19:30 - 21:30 | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP, United Kingdom
Johannes Brahms (1833-97) Selection from 21 Hungarian Dances (for piano duet)
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) Love Songs Op. 83 (arranged by David Matthews for mezzo-soprano, string quartet and double bass)

Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) The Fisherman (Goethe) (for reciter, string quartet, double bass, harp and accordion)

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) String Quartet in F Op. 96 ‘American’
The rippling waves of Smetana’s The Fisherman are remarkably prescient of Wagner’s Das Rheingold. Dvořák’s Love Songs rework an earlier cycle to magnificent effect and his Trio, as much Mozartian as Bohemian, was praised for its ‘wealth of beautiful melody.’ Brahms’s brilliant Hungarian Dances and Dvořák’s beloved String Quartet Op. 96 ‘The American’ complete the programme.

Nash Ensemble
Simon Crawford-Phillips piano

Alasdair Beatson piano
Stephanie Gonley violin
Jonathan Stone violin
Lawrence Power viola
Adrian Brendel cello
Graham Mitchell double bass
Lucy Wakeford harp
Renata Pokupić mezzo-soprano

see booking link below
The regions of Bohemia and Moravia endured political, military and linguistic control by multiple nations and governments in the 19th and 20th centuries. ‘From My Homeland’ showcases some of the most vibrant, imaginative and unusual works written in the 1800s and 1900s, as well as music by Johannes Brahms – friend and champion of Antonín Dvořák.
The series (October 2023 to March 2024) also includes a day of concerts, films and talks dedicated to the victims of the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp between 1941-45.
illustration: Moravian Teachers’ Choir poster by Alphonse Mucha

From My Homeland concert 3
2023-11-18 17:30 - 18:30 | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP, United Kingdom
Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) Pohádka

Josef Suk (1874-1935) Selection from 4 pieces for violin and piano Op. 17

Johannes Brahms (1833-97) Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor Op. 101

Janáček’s magical Pohádka explores a world of princesses and monsters, while Suk’s 4 Pieces are rich with untold stories. Even the scherzo of Brahms’s Trio was once described as hurrying ‘like a frightened child.’

Nash Ensemble
Simon Crawford-Phillips piano
Stephanie Gonley violin
Adrian Brendel cello

see booking link below
The regions of Bohemia and Moravia endured political, military and linguistic control by multiple nations and governments in the 19th and 20th centuries. ‘From My Homeland’ showcases some of the most vibrant, imaginative and unusual works written in the 1800s and 1900s, as well as music by Johannes Brahms – friend and champion of Antonín Dvořák.
The series (October 2023 to March 2024) also includes a day of concerts, films and talks dedicated to the victims of the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp between 1941-45.
illustration: Moravian Teachers’ Choir poster by Alphonse Mucha

Il Boemo
2023-11-18 17:15 - 20:00 | Prince Charles Cinema, 7 Leicester Place, London, WC2H 7BY, United Kingdom
A biopic of Josef Mysliveček, one of the most prolific opera composers in 18th century Italy, who was admired by Mozart and forgotten by history.
It’s 1764 and a charismatic Czech musician arrives in Venice to fulfil his dream of becoming an opera composer. His fortune changes along with his unpronounceable name when he forms a liaison with a libertine marquise who introduces him to a hedonistic existence and high society.
As Il Boemo he is commissioned to write an opera for the San Carlo, Europe’s largest theatre and soon becomes one of the biggest stars of the Italian opera, working closely with legendarily volatile opera diva La Gabrielli, writing an opera for the King of Naples and inspiring and befriending Mozart.
Emphasising personal relationships, director Petr Václav, who has meticulously researched the composer, uses flashbacks to tell Mysliveček’s extraordinary story from his ascent to glory to his death in poverty ravaged by syphilis.
The screening will be followed by Q&A with actor Vojtěch Dyk and director Petr Václav.
see booking link below
Part of the 27th Made in Prague Festival. For full programme details see 27th Made in Prague Festival / Czech Centre London (czechcentres.cz)
