A proud, cataclysmic conclusion at Prague Spring

By Frank Kuznik, 04 June 2018

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“The musicians sounded like they were playing not just from their hearts, but from their very DNA”

Reviewed at Municipal House: Smetana Hall, Prague on 3 June 2018

Fibich, Comenius Op.34

Suchon, Psalm of the Carpathian Land Op.12

Janáček, Sinfonietta, Op.60

Slovak Philharmonic

James Judd, Conductor

Jan Vacik, Tenor

Slovak Philharmonic Choir

Outstanding performances in brothel-based Baden-Baden Pique Dame

Ako Imamura, 12th April

The Baden-Baden Easter Festival offers a memorable production of Pique Dame with excellent musical performances convincing in Leiser and Caurier's updating of the plot.

*****

Prom 29: Twilight of the Old Believers

Mark Pullinger, 6th August

Semyon Bychkov turned in a magisterial account of Mussorgsky's rugged score, aided and abetted by some strong vocal performances.

****1

Prague Spring finishes with a stirring farewell

Frank Kuznik, 2nd June

Krzysztof Penderecki leads a masterful performance and powerful tribute to Jiří Bělohlávek.

*****

Eugen Onegin oder: Gepflegte Langeweile an der Wiener Staatsoper

Isabella Steppan, 31st October

Dmitri Tcherniakovs Inszenierung geht beharrlich gegen Text und Musik und sorgt für eine leidenschaftslose Vorstellung am Halloween-Abend.

**111

Gurrelieder de Schoenberg en el Festival de Canarias

José Luis Montesdeoca, 14th January

El Festival de Música de Canarias propone en su 33 edición una obra tan hermosa como de singular complejidad: los Gurrelieder de Schoenberg. Dos orquestas y dos coros se unieron en el escenario bajo la dirección de Josep Pons para dar vida a la monumental composición.

***11

Slava Boris

Simon Haasis, 6th May

René Pape überzeugt bei seinem Rollendebüt an der Wiener Staatsoper als hellstimmiger Boris Godunow.

***11

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Frank Kuznik

Frank Kuznik is the former Editor-in-Chief and Culture Editor of The Prague Post, Central Europe’s premier English-language weekly newspaper. He currently divides his time between Prague and his hometown in the US, Cleveland, where he covers northeast Ohio's dynamic classical music scene. In Prague he is an habitué of the Rudolfinum, National Theater, State Opera and other storied classical music venues, and an unabashed fan of Czech music.