Pavel Haas Quartet
2024-02-12 19:30 - 21:30 (Europe/London) | 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.

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.

“Get to know you” social evening
2024-02-14 19:00 - 22:00, 2024-03-13 19:00 - 22:00 | 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

Jenůfa
2024-03-13 19:30 - 2024-03-27 19:30 | English National Opera, St Martin’s Lane, London, WC2N 4ES, United Kingdom
A tale of honour, love and sacrifice, Leoš Janáček’s opera Jenůfa explores the stigma of pregnancy out of wedlock against the backdrop of a small community.
Loved by two half-brothers, Jenůfa is secretly pregnant by one of them. Abandoned by the child’s father, she gives birth alone, only assisted by her stepmother. Unaware of the child, the second brother pledges to marry Jenůfa, but, as their wedding looms, tragedy strikes.
Concerned for the family’s reputation, her stepmother commits an unspeakable act in the hope that dishonour is averted and Jenůfa does not remain alone. But when a baby’s body is found in the river on the wedding day, the devastating truth is revealed to all.
Directed by David Alden, ENO’s Olivier Award-winning staging updates the setting to an isolated 20th century industrial estate in the Eastern Bloc, giving the story a contemporary edge that makes it feel even more relevant for today’s audiences.
Janáček’s powerfully rich score is conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson. Soprano Jennifer Davis makes her role debut as Jenůfa, with Susan Bullock as her stepmother Kostelnička and Richard Trey Smagur making his ENO debut as Laca. ENO Harewood Artist, John Findon, sings Steva.
Sung in English with the words displayed above the stage (surtitles)

BCSA Annual General Meeting 2024
2024-03-20 18:00 - 18:45 | Czech Embassy, 26-30 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
The BCSA AGM is open to all subscription members. The agenda includes the presentation of the chairman’s and financial reports for 2023 plus the election of honorary officers of the executive committee. Copies of the independently examined accounts for 2023 and the minutes of the AGM held on 21 March 2023 will be available at the meeting together with the treasurer’s report.
The four honorary officer posts – chairman, vice-chairman, secretary and treasurer – are held for one year and are subject to election at every AGM. The current vice-chairman, Ruzena Holub, secretary, Blanka Shrimpton and treasurer, Ivona Klemensova, are willing to stand for re-election.
Ladislav Hornan is standing down as chairman. The executive committee is nominating Jana Nahodilova for this post.
No other committee members are eligible for re-election this year.
Any subscription member of the BCSA can be nominated as an honorary officer or committee member. Nomination forms can be obtained from Blanka Shrimpton by e-mail: secretary@bcsa.co.uk and returned to her by 13 March 2024.
Please register your attendance, or apologies for absence, to secretary@bcsa.co.uk.
The AGM will also be livestreamed via Zoom; the link will be made available following registration.
Jakub Hrůša in conversation will follow the formal part of the evening.

Jakub Hrůša in conversation with Nigel Simeone
2024-03-20 19:00 - 21:00 | Czech Embassy cinema, 26 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
The Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša and musicologist Nigel Simeone will discuss their musical careers & Czech music. They will go back to their musical beginnings, their life experiences in various countries and the role that classical music and Czech music play in contemporary society. Their common loves, such as Leoš Janáček or Leonard Bernstein, will be at the forefront of the discussion. They may also share their opinion about the new critically acclaimed movie “Maestro“. Their discussion will also be livestreamed.
This event marks the Year of Czech Music 2024 and also the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Dvořák Society for Czech and Slovak Music in the UK.
Years ending in a four have special significance in Czech music, often coinciding with the anniversaries of the birth, death of the most prominent Czech composers, or else the creation of their key works. 2024 marks the 120th anniversary of the passing of Antonín Dvořák and 130 years since composition of his piano pieces Humoresky. It is also 200 years since the birth of Bedřich Smetana, 140 years since his death and 150 years since the composition of his famous symphonic poems Má vlast. It is also 170 years since the birth of Leoš Janáček and 120 years since his composition of Jenůfa.
More information about the Year of Czech Music can be found at: Year of Czech Music | Rok české hudby 2024 (rokceskehudby.cz)
Jakub Hrůša is Chief Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony, Music Director Designate of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (from September 2025), Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He was previously Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra and of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. He is the 2023 Opus Klassik Conductor of the Year.
Hrůša is a frequent guest with many of the world’s greatest orchestras, enjoying close relationships and performing regularly with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, NHK Symphony and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra – and in the USA with the Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Jakub is one of the ambassadors of the Year of Czech Music 2024, a patron of the Smetana 200 project and is due to perform Smetana’s opera Libuše with the Czech Philharmonic at the Prague Spring and Smetana Litomyšl festivals.
Nigel Simeone was born in London in 1956. He is a writer and broadcaster with a lifelong interest in Czech music – an enthusiasm ignited by seeing a production of The Cunning Little Vixen during a school trip to Germany in 1970. He is the author of three books on Janáček including Janáček’s Works (1997) and The Janáček Compendium (2019). His other books include three with a focus on the relationship between composers and conductors: The Leonard Bernstein Letters (2013), Charles Mackerras (2015) and Ralph Vaughan Williams and Adrian Boult (2022). He appears regularly on BBC Radio 3 (Record Review and Opera on 3) and contributes articles to Opera and Gramophone (most recently a feature on Smetana in the March 2024 issue). He also writes programme notes for the Salzburg Festival, Wexford Festival, Royal Opera House, London Symphony Orchestra and the Wigmore Hall.
Light refreshments will be served following the talk.
Booking is essential via Eventbrite to attend in person or receive the online link (see below)
BCSA and Dvořák Society members enjoy free entry. 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, see https://www.bcsa.co.uk/school-support-fund/

Hybrid symposium - Arthur Fleischmann (1896 – 1990)
2024-03-22 09:30 - 17:30 | Slovak Embassy, 25 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY, United Kingdom
The Significance of Arthur Fleischmann’s International Career
See our profile of Arthur Fleischmann here
The decision by the City Council of Bratislava in 2023 to close the Arthur Fleischmann Museum (established in 2002) has raised concern in international academic and cultural circles and has been featured in depth on Slovak television. Discussions are underway to re-open it, either at its original location, Fleischmann’s family home, a sixteenth-century town house in the centre of Bratislava, or at an alternative venue in the city.
Since his death in 1990, Fleischmann’s sculpture has inspired global scholarly interest, reflecting the scope of his international career in Bratislava, Vienna, Padua, Johannesburg, Bali, Sydney, London and Los Angeles.
Symposium Programme
9.30 – 9.35
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Court of St James’s, Róbert Ondrejcsák
9.35 – 9.40
British Ambassador to Slovakia, Nigel Baker OBE MVO
Session 1 Arthur Fleischmann in Bali and Australia – Chair Dominique Fleischmann, son of Arthur Fleischmann
9.40 – 10.00
Arthur Fleischmann and his Australian Legacy, Jim Bertouch
10.00 – 10.20
Arthur Fleischmann on Bali: contexts and connections, Gianni Orsini
10.20 – 10.50
What We Have Seen in Heaven: the Jewish Temple, Christian Mystical Ascent and the Art of Arthur Fleischmann, Fr Dominic White O.P.
10.50 – 11.00 Q&A
11.00 – 11.20 Coffee break
Session 2 Arthur Fleischmann’s Early Life – Chair Joanna Barnes, Arthur Fleischmann Foundation Trustee
11.20 – 11.40
The Press Photography of Red Vienna 1929-1938, Professor Eva Bransome
11.40 – 12.00
Fleischmann’s background: family, schooling and early artistic life before 1938, Dr Thomas Lorman
12.00 – 12.20
My Personal Recollections of the Establishment of the Arthur Fleischmann Museum, Štefan Holčik
12.20 – 12.40
Arthur Fleischmann and the Interwar Slovak Moderna, Marianna Oracová
12.40 – 1.00
Arthur Fleischmann’s Ceramic Sculptures and Artifacts from the Interwar Period, Mgr Zuzana Francová
1.00 – 1.20 Q&A
1.20 – 2.00 Lunch Break
Session 3 London and the later work – Chair Dr Robert Burstow, University of Derby
2.00 – 2.20
Lot’s Wife and the Worlds of Yesterday and Tomorrow, Dr Philip Ward-Jackson
2.20 – 2.40
Space. Light and Form, Dr Lucia Gregorová Stach
2.40 – 2.50 Q&A
Session 5 Central European Émigré Sculptors – Chair Dr Holly Trusted, Public Statues and Sculpture Association
2.50 – 3.10
Oscar Nemon (1906–1985) – Émigré Sculptor, Aurelia Young
3.10 – 3.30
Arthur Fleischmann and Peter László Péri: the work and patrons of two Hungarian-born sculptors in Cold War Britain, Dr Robert Burstow
3.30 – 3.50
Parallel Lives? – Arthur Fleischmann and Willi Soukop: Two Émigré Sculptors in London, Sarah MacDougall
3.50 – 4.00 Q&A
4.00 – 4.20 Tea break
Session 6 Arthur Fleischmann’s Legacy – Chair Gervase Hood, Arthur Fleischmann Foundation Trustee
4.20 – 4.35
Sculptors’ Archives as Challenge and Legacy: the Example of Arthur Fleischmann at Tate?
Dr Darragh O’Donoghue
4.35 – 4.45
The Arthur Fleischmann Archive, Peter Simpson and Dominique Fleischmann
4.45 – 5.00
From Water, Light and Starwars to Figure and Abstraction, Nick Hornby
5.00 – 5.15 Q&A
5.15 – 5.30 Closing remarks, Dominique Fleischmann

Free event, but you must register to attend by emailing: ArthurFleischmannFoundation@gmail.com
It is imperative that you bring photo ID with you to the event.

To see Abstracts of Papers and Biographies of Speakers and Chairs click here

The Ride of the Kings (Jízda Králů): a folkore festival
2024-04-23 18:30 - 20:30 | Czech Embassy, 26-30 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
This annual tradition held in Vlčnov, Moravia dates back over 200 years. Its origins are associated with a legend that when King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary fled from King Jiří z Poděbrad of Bohemia, he wore a girl’s dress, covered his face with a ribbon, and held a rose in his mouth so as not to be recognised. The king is played by a young boy, also with a rose in his mouth and a ribbon around his head, who enters the village on a white horse. In 2011 it was added to the UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
Ben Meyer is an Australian/American documentary photographer who has lived in the Czech Republic for the past seven years. During the festival he stayed with members of the king’s entourage and was ‘exposed to an incredibly rich and proud Czech folklore culture’.
This event will take place in person and will also be livestreamed.
BCSA members enjoy free entry but registration is essential. Non-members £10, full-time students £5.
Light refreshments will be provided.
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. More information about our fund, see https://www.bcsa.co.uk/school-support-fund/

Baroque in Bavaria and Bohemia
2024-04-24 10:00 - 2024-05-08 18:00 | National Museum Prague, Václavské náměstí 68, Prague, Czech Republic
This exhibition focuses on the period from 1720-1820 with 218 items on loan from 54 Czech and 33 foreign institutions. It explores a shared culture despite political conflicts and is divided into six sections covering art, architecture, music and science.
Previously hosted by the House of Bavarian History in Regensburg.

Padesátá léta (1950s)
2024-04-24 10:00 - 2024-05-30 18:00 | National Museum Prague, Václavské náměstí 68, Prague, Czech Republic
A new exhibition in the Historical Building of Prague’s National Museum introduces visitors to a dark decade of Czechoslovak history when the country was decimated by totalitarianism and controlled by the party apparatus. At the same time, there was an era of post-war optimism and the vain hope among some people that they were building a better tomorrow.

The 1950s is one of the bleakest periods in modern Czech history. The ruling Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was responsible for political trials, judicial murders, lawlessness, and the liquidation of democratic principles of state administration, according to the exhibition’s curators.

The totalitarian regime affected all areas of the Czechoslovak social structure, including the economy, culture, politics, and foreign image of the country. This era set the future character of Czech society and distorted it for many decades.

The exhibition presents the broader context of the 1950s, with a central focus on the deaths of Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin and Czech party chairman Klement Gottwald.
Source: expats.cz New National Museum exhibit sheds light on the shadowy 1950s – Prague, Czech Republic (expats.cz)
Photo: National Musuem

Srdce napůl (Heart in half) book launch
2024-04-25 18:00 - 21:00 | Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5ED, United Kingdom
The UK launch of the book Srdce napůl (Heart in half) written by Professor Jan Marek, MD, PhD, FESC, Consultant Paediatric and Prenatal Cardiologist and Clinical Lead for Echocardiography, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. This follows the Czech British Chamber of Commerce AGM.
The launch aims to support Czech children and their families born with a heart condition. Organised in a group “Srdickari” (“Heartmakers”, www.srdickari.cz), they run several programs and projects supporting those in need. Prof. Marek has been a patron of this group for a few years.
The event will be also attended by Barbara Nesvadbova, a renowned Czech artist, writer, philanthropist, and founder of a BE charity, www.becharity.cz who will read stories of two patients from the book.

Programme:
6 pm – 7 pm: CBCC AGM
7 pm – 8 pm: charity book launch
8 pm – 9 pm: networking with refreshments
There will be an opportunity to buy the book at a discounted price.
Cost:
CBCC/BCSA members: £0.00
Non-members: £15.00
Students: £7.50

Please book on Eventbrite at your earliest convenience as capacity is limited.
For security and catering reasons please book your slot by 19 April 2024.
The event is sponsored by CBCC Patron Dr. Jan Telensky.

Czech and Slovak émigré architects in Britain
2024-04-30 18:30 - 20:30 | Czech Embassy, 26-30 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
The talk is being given by John East, an expert in the field and the 20th Century Society photographer. In 2021 he gave The Friends a sweeping review of Czech architecture in the modern era.
To complement the talk, The Friends are also organising a tour of some of the buildings in London, with which these architects are associated, details to be announced.
Against a background of various forms of oppression, the UK benefited from the arrival of Czech and Slovak architects escaping the brutalities of the Nazi regime in the late 1930s and more recently the oppression of the post-World War Two Communist state.
Émigré architects such as Eugene Rosenberg, Ernst Wiesner, Jacques Groag and Erwin Katona chose to remain here and went on to make an important contribution to the rebuilding of Britain.
Likewise in the period following the Prague Spring of 1968 we benefitted from those architects who chose to make their lives here. Eva Jiříčná, Jan Kaplicky and Ivan Margolius amongst others have been very influential in the architectural movements of our times.
Tickets £15 including a glass of wine.
All proceeds raised go towards the care and conservation of Czech historic heritage.
Images left to right: Selfridges, Birmingham, © Mcginnly/ YRM office, GreystokePlace © No Swan So Fine/ Somerset House © traveljunction. All from Creative Commons Wikimedia.

Kukal Quartet
2024-05-02 19:30 - 21:00 | Czech Embassy, 26-30 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
To celebrate the Year of Czech Music, the Czech Centre presents the UK debut of the Kukal Quartet, with a repertoire centred around Smetana’s last chamber music work, premiered in 1884. Founded in 2020 by four exceptionally talented young musicians and named after the celebrated Czech composer Ondřej Kukal, the quartet quickly gained recognition, winning prizes at the Prague Spring Competition within a year. The quartet has impressed critics and audiences alike with their lively and authentic musical expression, unique ensemble dynamics, and the strong individuality of its members.

Eliška Kukalová, violin
Klára Lešková, violin
Daniel Macho, viola
Filip Rufer, violoncello
Programme:
Schulhoff Five Pieces
Sylvie Bodorová Shorafot
Smetana Quartet No 2
Dvořák Cypreses – a selection

Tickets @ £9.83 via Eventbrite link below
Part of the Year of Czech Music 2024. Organised in partnership with the Leamington Music Festival and supported by the Czech Recovery Plan, Ministry of Culture Czech Republic, European Union, Arts and Theatre Institute, SoundCzech and Vazny zajem Society.

BCSA children's art & literary competition
2024-05-04 08:00 - 2024-05-28 17:00
Calling all young artists and writers. The BCSA competition is back!

This year you can express yourself in LITERARY or ART form. Literary entries should be in English.

What does it mean for you to be for the first time in a new country? What strikes you, what do you want to explore? How does it feel to hear a foreign language? Are their culture and habits very different from yours?

Kukal String Quartet
2024-05-04 11:00 | Royal Pump Rooms, The Parade, Leamington Spa, CV32 4AA, United Kingdom
The Kukal String Quartet is making its UK debut on this visit, having been specially chosen by The Czech Centre. Named after a leading Czech composer, Ondřej Kukal, the Quartet, founded in 2020, was winning prizes at the Prague Spring Competition within a year. The Quartet brings a programme that embraces many of the Festival’s strands, whetting the appetite for Sylvie Bodorová’s première later in the day and building it around Smetana’s last chamber music work, premièred in 1884.

Schulhoff Five Pieces

Sylvie Bodorová Shofarot

Smetana Quartet No 2

Dvořák Cypresses –a selection

Eliška Kukalová and Klára Lešková violins
Daniel Macho viola, Filip Rufer cello
tickets £12-18 see booking link below, includes coffee, available from 10.30am in the Conservatory
Visit supported by The Czech Centre London

Martinů String Quartet
2024-05-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Royal Pump Rooms, The Parade, Leamington Spa, CV32 4AA, United Kingdom
The Martinů String Quartet returns to Leamington for three concerts, two of them with the leading Czech oboist Vilém Veverka with whom the Quartet often works. Mozart’s Oboe Quartet is a gem to be followed by the commission from The Dvořák Society of a new work by Sylvie Bodorová. Martin Kasík joins the Quartet after the interval for Dvořák’s much loved and evergreen Quintet.
Mozart Oboe Quartet in F K370
Sylvie Bodorová Psalms and Exhortations for Oboe Quintet (Première)
Dvořák Piano Quintet in A Op 81
Lubomír Havlák violin and Adéla Štajnochrová violins
Martin Stupka viola, Jitka Vlašánková cello
with Vilém Veverka oboe
and Martin Kasík piano

Tickets @£ 17-27 via booking link below

Generously supported by The Dvořák Society

Martinů String Quartet
2024-05-05 19:00 - 21:00 | Royal Pump Rooms, The Parade, Leamington Spa, CV32 4AA, United Kingdom
Imagine being part of a relaxed Sunday evening in a spacious drawing room in a palace in Prague and enjoy, with the Festival’s Czech musicians in residence, an eclectic mix of works ranging from Dvořák’s ever-popular Humoreske, to some lesser-known Martinů for discovery, and other well-chosen bonbons.
Bohemian Pot Pourri
Martinů Quartet for oboe, violin, cello & piano H315
Haas Suite for oboe and piano Op 17
Klein Wiegenlied
Smetana From My Homeland
Dvořák Silent Woods Op 68
Dvořák Humoreske Op 101 No 7
Dvořák Terzetto in C Op 74
Martinů Mazurka-Nocturne H325
Lubomír Havlák violin and Adéla Štajnochrová violins
Martin Stupka viola, Jitka Vlašánková cello
with Vilém Veverka oboe
and Martin Kasík piano

Tickets £17-27 via booking link below

Generously supported by Hugh & Jane Beale, Malcolm & Jenny Burns, and Jennifer Lorch

Martinů String Quartet
2024-05-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Holy Trinity Church, Beauchamp Avenue, Leamington Spa, CV32 5RE, United Kingdom
The Festival’s final concert includes Vilém Tauský’s Coventry, written in 1940 after visiting the recently ruined cathedral.
Sylvie Bodorová’s Terezín Ghetto Requiem (premièred in Holy Trinity Church in 1998) will be played here for the fifth time, after numerous performances in England, North America, and on the continent. Simon Wallfisch was the impressive baritone soloist last time, in 2016, and Gemma Rosefield also returns to play Schubert’s masterpiece with the Martinů String Quartet.
Krása String Quartet
Tauský Coventry
Sylvie Bodorová Terezín Ghetto Requiem
Schubert String Quintet in C D956
Lubomír Havlák violin and Adéla Štajnochrová violins
Martin Stupka viola, Jitka Vlašánková cello
with Simon Wallfisch baritone
and Gemma Rosefield cello

Tickets £17-27 via booking link below. Join us after the concert for a celebratory glass of wine!
Generously supported by Diane Holt and Peter Robinson

The lives & works of four Czech/Slovak émigré artists in Britain
2024-05-14 18:30 - 20:30 | Czech Embassy cinema, 26 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
Sarah MacDougall explores the contrasting lives, careers and legacy of four artists of Czech-Jewish heritage – Fred Feigl, Hella Guth, Ernst Neuschul and Freda Salvendy. The majority are represented in the Ben Uri Collection. This event will also be livestreamed.
On the eve of the Second World War, fearing Nazi persecution, they fled from Prague to Britain. Fred Feigl and Hella Guth, settled in London; Ernest Neuschul initially found refuge in Wales and Freda Salvendy made her home in Cornwall
Despite their geographical divergence, all benefitted from wartime refugee cultural support in London from bodies including the Czechoslovak Institute, the Czech Refugee Trust Fund, and the Free German League of Culture, under whose auspices the First Group Exhibition of German, Austrian, Czechoslovakian Painters and Sculptors was held at the Wertheim Gallery in 1939.

Sarah MacDougall is Director of Scholarship at Ben Uri Gallery and Museum. She heads the collection and exhibitions programme focusing on the Jewish, refugee and wider immigrant contribution to British visual culture since 1900 and has lectured and published widely on this subject. She is a committee member of the German and Austrian Research Centre for Exile Studies at the University of London.

Booking is essential via Eventbrite to attend in person or receive the online link (see below)
BCSA subscription members enjoy free entry. Non-members £10, full-time students £5.

Light refreshments will be served following the talk.
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, see https://www.bcsa.co.uk/school-support-fund/

Prague, c. 1938, watercolour by Freda Salvendy. Image: Ben Uri Collection © The Estate of Freda Salvendy.

BCSA/CBCC Garden Party - sold out!
2024-06-08 14:00 - 18:00 | Slovak Embassy, 25 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY, United Kingdom
Our summer social will once again be held in the gardens of the Slovak and Czech Embassies, with their kind permission.
All are welcome – not just BCSA members. Bring your friends, bring your family!

Enjoy an afternoon relaxing among Slovak, Czech and British people.

The ticket price includes traditional chlebíčky (open-faced sandwiches), chicken řízek (schnitzel) both with a vegetarian option, and Czech style potato salad followed by apple strudel. Non-alcoholic drinks are included in the price and one Martina Czech-style lager brewed by Bohem Brewery in London, kindly donated by Zdeněk Kudr.

A cash bar will offer Moravian wine supplied by Wines of Bohemia and more Martina lager.

Live entertainment will be provided by folklore ensemble Květ and Kvítek from the Czech and Slovak school Okénko.

There will also be a raffle and a children’s art and literary competition.

Top raffle prizes include a two-night stay for two in the High Tatras (Hotel Hills or Horizont Resort) or Ensana Spa Hotels in Piešt’any (Thermia Palace) or Mariánské Lázně (Nové Lázně)

Admission by pre-paid tickets only (including children)Closing date: 5 June 2023£24.00 BCSA members£26.00 non-members£20.00 full-time students£12.00 children aged 5-15 yearsfree for children under 5 years(booking required)There is limited capacity, so book early to avoid disappointment see Eventbrite link below

Pavel Haas Quartet
2024-06-09 11:30 - 12:30 | Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP, United Kingdom
Two of the most popular works in the entire quartet repertoire brought together in a celebration of Czech music by a Czech ensemble. Smetana’s autobiographical example heard alongside Janáček’s second quartet inspired by his long and spiritual friendship with Kamila Stösslová.
Bedřich Smetana
String Quartet No. 1 in E minor ‘From my life’

Leoš Janáček

String Quartet No. 2 ‘Intimate Letters’

General sale for this concert will open at 10.00am on Tuesday 23 January.

Manchester drinks reception
2024-06-15 17:00 - 19:00
Come and join us for an informal get together of Czechs, Slovaks and Brits who are interested in British-Czech-Slovak relations and cooperation.

You can meet interesting people and share your ideas about what you would like to see happening in your area.

Our reception is free but due to limited spaces, registration is necessary at events@bcsa.co.uk.

We look forward to seeing you in Manchester.

Trio Bohémo
2024-06-20 16:00 - 17:30 | Britten Studio, Snape Maltings, Snape, Suffolk, IP17 1SP, United Kingdom
Trio Bohémo, Britten Pears Young Artist Programme alumni praised for “precision, dedication and a spark of magic”, makes its Festival debut with four attractive and contrasting works.

Judith Weir: O Viridissima
Vítězslav Novák: Piano Trio No.2 in D minor, Op.27, “Quasi una ballata”
Judith Weir: Piano Trio
Brahms: Piano Trio No.1 in B, Op.8 (

Matouš Pěruška violin
Kristina Vocetková cello
Jan Vojtek piano
Online booking for this event opens at 10:00 on 27 Jan 2024.

Czech functionalism 1918-1938
2024-06-24 18:30 - 20:00 | Czech Embassy cinema, 26 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QY
A talk by Prof. Vladimír Šlapeta.
Under the motto “catch up and overtake Europe” after the end of WWI, the newly created state – Czechoslovakia – began to build its existence. In architecture, it meant the creation of a new identity based on the tradition of pre-war Czech Cubism and inspired by Bauhaus, Le Corbusier and Dutch De Stijl, glowing with optimism and a new way of life. With three centres – Prague, Brno and Baťa´s Zlín – in which economic and architectural potential was concentrated, Czechoslovakia soon became one of the now-forgotten foci of international style, documenting a wide spectrum of various nuances of Functionalism from rationalist to aerodynamic and organic architectural concepts that represent proudly the democracy and humanism of Masaryk’s time. This phenomenon was stopped only by the Nazi occupation and later by the communist dictatorship, and today it is one of the important components of cultural discourse and heritage.

Prof. Vladimír Šlapeta studied architecture in Prague. From 1973-1991 he was director of the architectural department of the National Technical Museum in Prague and following the Velvet Revolution in 1989 he became Dean of the Faculty of Architecture in Prague and later at VUT in Brno. He was a Fulbright-Masaryk scholar at the Cooper Union in New York and is a member of the Akademie der Kunste in Berlin. He is the author of many exhibitions and books on Central European architecture of 20th century.

Price £15 including a glass of wine. To book use the Eventbrite link below.

Reserve a place at www.czechfriends/friends-eventsEnquiries: events@czechfriends.net

All proceeds raised go towards the care and conservation of Czech heritage.

Images courtesy of the lecturer. Left to right, the Roškot Theatre in Ústí nad Orlicí, the Černá růže Building on Na příkopě in Prague, the villa of Ferdinand Kremer in Hlučín.
