Cello Duello: Cello x2

Both mentors of this year’s cello masterclasses are phenomenal soloists. But why play the most challenging pieces on one cello when you can play them on two—and with joy?

If any instrument naturally belongs at a festival celebrating Dvořák’s music, it is the cello. Yet according to the ensemble Cello Duello, two instruments are better than one—and best of all is when they engage in a playful contest. This duel leads not to bloodshed or injuries but to friendly sparring between two outstanding musicians, driving each other to ever greater artistic heights. Renowned cellists Jens Peter Maintz and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, both former students of David Geringas, bring their phenomenal artistry and sense of humour to the stage. Maintz is a resident artist at the Lucerne Festival, and both are among the world’s most sought-after cello teachers, leading masterclasses during the Dvořák Prague Festival. Their programme features adaptations of Haydn’s classics, a virtuosic piece by Paganini, themes from Rossini’s operas, and an original duet by Jacques Offenbach—himself once a cellist.

Ticket prices: 690 – 2 390 CZK