The new Vltava Philharmonic will be built by the Danish architectural studio Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). Prague City selected a total of 19 applicants in an international competition. The Vltava Philharmonic Hall should have a total of three auditoria: the main concert hall for about 1800 persons, a smaller hall for chamber music with a capacity of 700 seats and a multifunctional hall for other genres and events with a capacity of up to 500 seats. Bjarke Ingels Group plans to complete the new building, which will cost the city about six billion crowns, in 2032. The main concert hall should offer state-of-the-art acoustics, excellent spatial and visual characteristics and facilities corresponding to 21st century standards. The building should also accommodate both of the significant Prague orchestras – the Prague Symphony Orchestra (FOK) and the Czech Philharmonic. The building should also integrate the music division of the Municipal Library of Prague and other creative spaces, which are to be another important pillar in the building’s construction program. It should also include a café or a rooftop restaurant. The roof, which offers a view of the capital, is to be a continuation of the square that will be built in front...
A series of charitable concerts ‘Music. Support. Freedom.’ organized by Ukrainian singers CONSTANTINE, INGRET and TOHKA (TONKA). Art illuminates the world even in dark times, helps to express powerful emotions, unites the souls and hearts of the people of Earth,” concert organizers write. “The voices of Ukrainians must be heard. This is what the strength, beauty, love and pain of a beautiful, hardworking and talented country sounds like. CONSTANTINE, INGRET and TOНKA (TONKA) have already performed in Berlin and Tallinn and continue their charity tour of European cities. They also attended several meetings with Ukrainian refugees, where they were able to communicate with compatriots and perform music in gratitude for their courage and love of their native country. The proceeds from the concerts will be deployed to the ‘Masterskaya’ Charity Foundation, where they will be distributed for humanitarian, medical, cultural institutions, and children’s needs. For Ukrainians who were forced to leave Ukraine because of the war, admission to the concert is free by pre-registration. You can get your tickets here May 20 Ukrainian experimental indie band Tonka released a new EP, “Znov molodist’ ne bude,” just two days before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Tonka has previously featured Ukrainian...
by Maddie Jacobson–Anglo-American University A mixture of strong emotions is immediately felt upon stepping into the Czech Press Photo exhibit at the National Museum. Surrounded by images capturing the upending world events of the last year, sadness, joy, loss, and unity are simultaneously evoked. The Czech Press Photo exhibit, open till October 31st, 2022, displays the winners of the Czech Press Photo competition along with other notable submissions. Located centrally at the National Museum in Prague’s Wenceslas Square, this exhibit is a must-see for everyone, from documentary photography aficionados to those who simply want to view the events of the past year from a different perspective. The Czech Press Photo Competition is currently in its 27th year, and it highlights Czech and Slovak photographers who are capturing everyday life and notable events in the Czech Republic and around the world. This is the second time that the National Museum has hosted this exhibition. The exhibition displays notable submissions from the 2021 competition, the winner of the Photo of the Year along with winners of the subcategories. The Photo of the Year was shot by Petr Topic with the title “Destruction.” It depicts a young man standing with his head in...
Prague City Hall councillors have voted to make Czech singer Marta Kubišová an honorary citizen, the Czech News Agency reports. Kubišová will receive the citizenship for her achievements in the realm of Czech culture, as well as for her personal bravery shown during the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia and during the subsequent normalisation era. Youth Marta Kubišová was born on November 1, 1942, in České Budějovice, during the height of WWII. She lived with her grandparents, mother, father, and brother. As the communists strengthened their grip over the country, the family moved to Poděbrady. Her father was a cardiologist. He closed his practice in 1953 because he did not want to comply with the regime, leading to his imprisonment for 3-6 months. Her mother was a housewife. Marta dreamed of studying at a university, but was told to find work in a factory because she would not be “approved” for higher education. While working in a glassworks factory, she tried three times in vain to get into a university. Upon the third rejection, her boss told her to hand in her resignation. With no job prospects or schooling, she did not know where to turn. Her mother saw that a...
Kotva’s entire fourth floor, with an area of over 2,000 square meters, will display some of the almost 12,000 objects that were acquired through a national collection in 2018. The museum will officially open this Wednesday, May 18. Visitors will be able to see how people lived in Czechoslovakia during the so-called normalization from 1970-1980. The organizers divided the museum into five main sections, showing the main components of the life of an average citizen of Czechoslovakia. The first section showcases the interiors of a typical apartment and offices of that time. The second one shows pieces of furniture made by Czechoslovak manufacturers. The third is about objects and design elements used in shops, canteens, schools. The fourth is about electronics, children’s toys, and clothes. The last section will focus on the politics of the 70’s and 80’s, which will show and explain the functioning of secret security, wiretapping of dissidents, and Czechoslovak socialist propaganda.
The 8th Open House Prague, a festival that celebrates Prague’s architecture, is taking place on May 16–22, 2022. On the weekdays, there is a number of accompanying events – concerts, lectures, discussions, exhibitions, and guided walks. On the weekend of May 21–22, 101 buildings and spaces that are not usually accessible are open for free. Visitors are welcome in the information center of the festival, located on Železná 492/18, Prague 1, where they can purchase the festival guide and merchandise. The opening hours are Monday–Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday–Sunday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The full program is available here The program features 101 buildings, including 26 new participants, 57 cultural monuments, and an eventful accompanying program, which celebrates several anniversaries of significant architects, such as Jože Plečnik. In the neighborhood of Vinohrady sits one of his most outstanding pieces of work, the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord, featuring Egyptian and early Christian architectural elements. English Tours Because Open House Prague also attracts visitors from foreign countries and long-term residents of Prague, the organizers have arranged a number of guided tours in English in selected buildings. These include the City Mayor’s Residency, the...
The Eurovision 2022 grand final is almost upon us, promising to be packed full of the usual weird and wacky acts we’re used to seeing at the song contest. The Czech Republic’s act We Are Domi promises a spectacle at Saturday night’s grand final in Turin, going up against favourites-to-win Ukraine‘s Kalush Orchestra. They have been chosen to go first on stage, no doubt increasing the pressure on the group to impress. But who are the duo and what song will they perform at the grand final? Here is everything you need to know. Who are We Are Domi? While representing the Czech Republic, two of the trio are Norweigan and the band was formed in the UK for a project while studying at the Leeds College of Music in 2016, before getting together officially and producing singles in 2018. Before performing in Thursday’s semi-final, guitarist Casper Hatlestad urged the ‘lads and lasses’ of Leeds to vote for them. They told the BBC: ‘Leeds is our second home. We lived there for five years and we’ve been on the underground music scene for so many years and we were really, really inspired by it.’ The band’s vocals are led by Dominika Hašková, while Casper Hatlestad plays guitar...
The National Museum sent a consignment of materials to help the country protect its art. Yesterday morning, two trucks filled with packaging, bubble wrap, polyethylene foams and other materials left the National Museum in Prague and set off to Ukraine. According to the museum, this consignment of materials was commissioned by the Czech Ministry of Culture to help Ukraine preserve its endangered cultural heritage, monuments, and artworks. In addition to sending the aforementioned materials, the National Museum has also sent other safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, power banks, sandbags, fuel generators, and oriented strand boards (OSB boards) designed to block windows. These materials and equipment have not been chosen at random but selected based on the needs and requests of Ukraine, the museum explained. “We responded to a specific request from the Ukrainian side, and today, thanks to the work of the National Museum, two trucks full of necessary things can leave. I believe that in this way they will help to minimise the damage. Further assistance may follow as the Ukrainian side clarifies its needs,” explained Michal Lukeš, General Director of the National Museum. Lukeš further revealed that this is not the first time that the National Museum has lent a hand to...
The long-gestating The Crow reboot is one step closer to taking flight. A new take on The Crow is finally coming to life, with Bill Skarsgård (IT) leading the cast as Eric Draven and singer/actor FKA Twigs co-starring. Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman, Ghost in the Shell) is directing the “modern reimagining” of James O’Barr’s comic, with Zach Baylin (King Richard) writing. In a fresh article over at Deadline, they report that FilmNation Entertainment is handling the project at the Cannes Market and that filming is now lined up to take place this coming summer in Prague and Germany (various locations). According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is currently “well into pre-production” in Prague, with the shoot scheduled to begin in June. Prague locations to be utilized for The Crow are not yet known, and the Czech capital may or may not play itself. Previous adaptations have been set in Detroit, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and other North American locales. The 1994 version was well-received but left an unfortunate legacy as the final film of star Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, was shot and killed during an on-set accident. Over the past decade, directors such as Stephen Norrington, F. Javier Gutiérrez, and Corin Hardy have been attached to...
Prague Pride, the organization behind the Prague Pride Festival, is teaming up with The Gay Agenda to celebrate the beginning of Pride Month on June 4th. Although most people know Prague Pride as the driving force behind the Prague Pride Festival held annually in August, June is also an important time of year for the queer community. June has been the traditional month to honor LGBT+ history since the Stonewall Riots in New York City in June 1969. The Stonewall Riots, led mostly by trans women of color, was the revolutionary beginning to the Gay Rights Movement in the United States. June is designated as Pride Month to honor and remember those who took part in the Stonewall Riots and to remind the contemporary queer community about their own current struggles for equality. As an extra treat, 10% of ticket sales from the show will also be donated to Prague Pride’s new LGBT Center, The Rainbow House. The Gay Agenda has produced a show for Prague Pride to celebrate Pride Month featuring an international lineup of English-speaking stand-up comics, burlesque performers, and drag queens. This is the first year that Prague Pride has organized a celebration to honor Pride Month....
Bugge Wesseltoft is a visionary and influential jazz musician from Norway and active as a future jazz advocate for over a quarter-century, since the mid-1990s. Even his earliest recordings do not sound dated; instead, it reveals how he has consistently merged so smoothly electronic music (techno) with first-rate jazz players from Norway in sophisticated compositions still sounding ahead of their time. While he has collaborated with musicians on dozens of albums for his own Jazzland Recordings, based in Oslo, he has only two solo recordings with piano, electric piano and computer-sounds along with minimalistic drums and the voice of shamanista Mari Boine (on “IM” released in 2007); then a few years later, he released “Playing” in 2009, more of a solo piano effort, contemplative, minimalistic and solemn. This one also includes tracks with warped manipulations, risky and menacing at times. In 2011 (also on Jazzland Recordings) Wesseltoft took this concept to a higher level with “Duo” recorded with Henrich Schwarz (on computer). The difference between “Duo” and “Playing” is in the keener interplay, allowing Bugge to concentrate on his end (piano and keyboard) with the counterpoint of an edgier deep-house and contemporary classical (crossover) producer and DJ (from Germany), as...
On Saturday, the 14th of May, Prague Castle will officially open the summer tourist season. The seat of the Czech heads of state is on this day open to visitors completely for free. The representative spaces in the New Palace are usually not open to visitors. Saturday, May 14, is one of the few days when Prague Castle opens these halls, salons and lounges which are normally reserved for receiving official visits by the President of the Republic. Therefore, you have now a unique chance to look around these rooms, some of which served as representative and residential spaces to monarchs as early as the 16th century! Access to all major historical buildings will also be completely free. That includes the Old Royal Palace, St. Vitus Cathedral, Great South Tower of the Cathedral, St. George’s Basilica, Rosenberg Palace, Golden Lane, The Treasury of St. Vitus Cathedral, The Picture Gallery and The Story of Prague Castle. Lovers of music are advised to spend a moment in the Third Courtyard where there will be brass band performances on stage for the whole day. In the Royal Garden, medieval falconers will show their art, visitors will find refreshment stalls, and children will enjoy...
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