BRNO INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL
19th Easter Festival of Sacred Music

March 28 – April 11 2010

Statutary City of Brno under the auspices of
Roman Onderka, Mayor of the City of Brno,
Michal Hašek, President, Region of South Moravia
and Mons. Vojtěch Cikrle, Bishop of Brno


The nineteenth annual Easter Festival of Sacred Music in Brno during the two weeks between Palm Sunday and Octave Day of Easter (28 March to 11 April 2010) is located with its usual six evenings in three Brno churches: three concerts (with full orchestras) will take place in the Petrov cathedral, two in the Minorite church of the Saints John, and one in the “Red Church” of Jan Amos Komenský. In the cathedral we will hear the two monumental concerts framing the festival: the introductory Dvořák’s Stabat Mater; the signature work of the festival (as performed by Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK conducted by Petr Altrichter) will contrast with Rossini’s exquisite Messa di Gloria on the final evening. The vocal recital by Richard Novák with the Brno Philharmonic also has a symphonic character: it places the bass arias of Handel’s great sacred works, one German and one English, between two lovely settings to music of Psalmic texts in Czech, and meanwhile sets the ecstatic flight of Baroque music in contrast with the poetic intimacy of Dvořák’s piety. The remaining three concerts maintain a strict stylization in their programming and in their performance. The internationally-renowned men’s vocal quartet Stimmwerck from Munich make their debut at this festival with the four-part vocal compositions of the high Renaissance of the sixteenth century, and also bringing samples from the works of lesser-known composers from various corners of Europe; the Pardubice instrumental ensemble Barocco Sempre Giovane bring with them two top-notch soloists for the music of three great Baroque composers. And the children’s choir Severáček performing at the Brno festival – like the two preceding ensembles – for the first time, brings with them a colorful program, well thought out and effectively put together, exclusively from the music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Also appearing at the festival alongside the above ensembles will be the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leoš Svárovský, as well as conductor Jakub Klecker, the indispensable Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno (choirmaster Petr Fiala), the Prague Philharmonic Choir (choirmaster Lukáš Vasilek), and eleven leading Czech and Slovak vocal soloists, thanks to whom the festival will be – as always – a review of the vocal arts as well.