Press Reviews

The composer Zdeněk Lukáš (1928–2007) had a lot of ties with Pilsen. He used to work here as a radio editor and returned here also after he had moved to Prague, most often to the choir Czech Song, but also to other interpreters that he came to know during his activities. If music history is to evaluate Zdeněk Lukáš’s place in the development of Czech music after a lapse of time, it will describe his name with a number of unique attributes. He remains one of the most frequently played and most prolific composers, frequently sought after by interpreters. Performing his instrumental works, with their inventive pleasing melodies, requires perfect presentation. After all, the majority of his pieces were inspired by our greatest artists, including Josef Suk and the Suk Chamber Orchestra.

Mainly this collection has given rise to this CD that is unique both with its instrumentalists and the technical quality of its records. It was recorded at the Czech Public Radio studio in Pilsen by a team led by the music director Antonín Bulka in 2005–2006. Concertino Dedicato (1997), dedicated to Maestro Suk, and Double Concerto for Violin, Double Bass and Orchestra (2000) give a great opportunity to show excellent instrumental skills of the violinist Martin Kos and the double bass player Tomáš Vybíral. Both artists are also members of another chamber orchestra – the Mladota Ensemble Prague, on the CD presented by Zdeněk Lukáš’s Sextet for Two Violins, Viola, Violoncello, Double Bass and Piano (2004). In addition to the artists already mentioned, the sextet members are Dana Truplová (violin), Karel Untermüller (viola), Tomáš Strašil (violoncello) and Štěpán Kos (piano). The series of instrumental compositions, created during the last decade of the composer’s life, also includes Te Alle Cinque for Violin, Piano and Orchestra (2003) and Canti for String Orchestra, Op. 175.

Thanks to the activities of local choirs, it is Zdeněk Lukáš’s vocal works that are better known to listeners in Pilsen. The present CD can expand their experiences by new dimensions. It is of great benefit for Pilsen that one of the protagonists of all the records – the violinist Martin Kos – is the Maestro’s successor in leading the Suk Chamber Orchestra. In recent years, he has also acted as concertmaster of the Opera Ensemble of the J. K. Tyl Theatre in Pilsen.

There is no need to introduce the composer Zdeněk Lukáš (1928–2007) to a music-loving audience – he is one of the most frequently played and sung Czech contemporary composers. Despite its diversity, his musical language, distinctly inspired by folklore, is always clearly recognisable, and it is distinctive through its unlimited melodic invention with a clear formal as well as musical structure. All compositions on the CD are dedicated to the Suk Chamber Orchestra or its members and were written between 1982 and 2004.

Concertino Dedicato for Violin and String Orchestra is from 1997 and is dedicated to Josef Suk and the Suk Chamber Orchestra. It was first played at a concert within the Prague Spring International Music Festival as part of the composer’s seventieth birthday celebrations. After 2000, when Josef Suk closed his solo artistic career, the SCO’s current concertmaster Martin Kos added this composition to his repertoire and often includes it in concert programmes. In terms of interpretation, it is a rewarding piece of music, using fully both the technical and acoustic possibilities of the violin.

The following Double Concerto for Violin, Double Bass and String Orchestra opens a completely different world. The light-heartedness and playfulness of the previous piece changes to a mystic atmosphere. The composition gradually develops into a beautiful dialogue of solo instruments, into which the tutti players bring a constant element of disquiet. The performances of both soloists, Martin Kos and the double bass player Tomáš Vybíral, are fantastic; they mastered the extraordinarily difficult parts with such virtuosity that it is a wonderful musical experience to listen to this recording.

Also the next composition on the CD, Sextet for Two Violins, Viola, Violoncello, Double Bass and Piano, offers a wonderful listening experience. The Mladota Ensemble Prague was established as a chamber association of the Suk Chamber Orchestra, and on the recording it is represented by Martin Kos and Dana Truplová – violin, Karel Untermüller – viola, Tomáš Strašil – violoncello, Tomáš Vybíral – double bass, and Štěpán Kos – piano.

Having returned from hospital in 2003, the composer wrote Te Alle Cinque for Violin, Piano and Orchestra. The soloists, brothers Martin and Štěpán Kos, are excellent once again. The concluding four songs for string orchestra called Canti, Op. 175 represent Zdeněk Lukáš’s oldest works on the CD.

The CD was recorded in excellent sound quality with spatially balanced and compact sound. Listening to the CD will leave you with a feeling of delight in perfect harmony and, in places, folk playfulness. As the compositions are interpreted by such an excellent orchestra – the Suk Chamber Orchestra – the recording will bring an extraordinary musical experience to a wide range of listeners.

In June 2006, in Suk Hall of the Rudolfinum, under the patronage of the City of Prague, the tenth jubilee cycle of chamber concerts Musical Jewels from Prague through Europe to the World was held. The cycle comprised five concerts and was organised and performed by the Suk Chamber Orchestra. The second-to-last concert was performed by the chamber orchestra Mladota Ensemble Prague.

This year’s Musical Jewels, just like the previous nine years, was an expression not only of programme dramaturgy, but also of a high interpretative level and of its mission – to provide Prague’s citizens and visitors alike with meaningful music, from well-known titles and proven qualities to music lesser known or completely unknown to the general public, but of no lesser quality in composition and performance.

Attention was understandably dedicated to compositions by W. A. Mozart and stylistically related works by classicist authors of the eighteenth century, mainly Joseph and Michael Haydn, Jan Křtitel Vanhal and Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf. The ensembles also presented unusual works in varied chamber configurations and devoted characteristic attention to Romantic, modern and contemporary Czech compositions.

The level of all participating performers was particularly well balanced. All were expressive individuals and remarkable chamber players. In the lead was concertmaster Martin Kos. His performance was careful, precise in intonation and rhythm, truly virtuoso and unaffected in expression.

Both ensembles are able to bring out a fundamental aspect of a musical work, mainly its melodic qualities. They understand the sense of shaping a melody and can play with the nuances of the musical message, including instrumental colour. Their cooperation results in exemplary, distinctive and compact chamber interplay.

Both ensembles – the Suk Chamber Orchestra and Mladota Ensemble Prague – belong at the top of chamber music interpretation in the Czech Republic and therefore deserve full support in realising their concert and recording activities.

Advent has always been considered, among other things, a period of reflection and meditative contemplation, and also a time of interesting cultural experiences. This is what the Advent concert by the Suk Chamber Orchestra provided. It offered serious – although in terms of mood also lightened – works of its kind. First was the Suite for Strings From Holberg’s Time by Edvard Grieg. The following concertante work was the Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra in D Minor by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The second part of the programme featured the Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 40 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

The ensemble’s protagonist, violinist Martin Kos, wonderfully fulfilled what Mendelssohn embodied in his Concerto in D Minor. His interpretation was careful, precise in terms of intonation and rhythm, truly virtuoso, but unaffected in phrasing. From the first violin he unpretentiously, but effectively, directed the ensemble.

The Suk Chamber Orchestra has had good fortune in constructing its repertoire. Among its specialities is a selection of serenade literature, including both beloved and highly valuable works. The original Grieg Suite brought out mainly the atmosphere of the work. The concluding Tchaikovsky Serenade was not only a proper but, in content and delivery, a true climax of the evening.

Within the project poetically named Musical Jewels at Červený Hrádek, another extraordinary concert was held on 6 September 2003.

This time the Knights’ Hall hosted several outstanding musicians. However, the name of the six chamber artists – the Mladota Ensemble – was unknown to most of us. The name had recently been lent to the performers by the owner of the castle, Baroness Henriette Mladota.

The six musicians were current or former members of the Suk Chamber Orchestra, performing every year at Červený Hrádek on the occasion of the Suk Festival in Sedlčany. They were invited by Josef Suk to collaborate on a new recording. As they understood each other both personally and artistically, they began performing regularly as a group.

For their first official performance the Mladota Ensemble – violinists Martin Kos and Dana Klimánková-Truplová, violist Karel Untermüller, cellist Tomáš Strašil, double bassist Tomáš Vybíral and pianist Štěpán Kos – chose works in which varied instrumental configurations could be presented to the audience.

Especially in summer, chamber orchestras are known for not working very hard on their programme offerings. Even the best small chamber ensembles often prefer to repeat the most popular pieces of their well-tested repertoire. The uncommon dramaturgy presented by the Suk Chamber Orchestra at the turn of spring and summer was therefore a real pleasure.

The special festival called Prague Musical Treasures lasted thirteen days. Within this period, listeners could attend five thematically accomplished musical evenings and one matinée. These concerts presented not only famous miniatures by Mozart and Vivaldi, but also lesser-known Romantic works and contemporary music.

The most vigorous event was the “75” Concert in Martinů Hall on 21 June. The number recalled both the anniversary of Zdeněk Lukáš’s birth and the seventy-fifth anniversary of Leoš Janáček’s death. The concert presented Janáček’s early Suite for Strings together with three compositions by Zdeněk Lukáš.

The Suk Chamber Orchestra presented Janáček’s Suite in a very interesting and unusual way. Thanks to detailed accentuation and a rather slow tempo, the familiar music revealed deeper colours and stronger inner conflict.

The orchestra grasped all of Lukáš’s compositions with masterful skill. The programme included Canti, the Double Concerto for Violin, Double Bass and Strings and Concertino Dedicato for Violin and Orchestra. Martin Kos took over Josef Suk’s part and performed together with the experienced and brilliant Tomáš Vybíral.

Both works fully disclosed their moving musical charm. Thanks to self-confidence and honest rehearsal, the musicians presented splendid and relieved music, with the strongest impression perhaps created by Lukáš’s Double Concerto.

When the idea was first put forward of enriching the early summer concert season with appearances by the Suk Chamber Orchestra and smaller instrumental formations in the attractive setting of Prague Castle, a suitable name had to be found. The choice was eloquent: Musical Gems at Prague Castle.

The programmes were not conventional or compiled in a routine manner. Mozart was strongly represented, but the cycle also included premieres, stimulating arrangements and works by Czech composers. Established artists appeared alongside young instrumentalists of outstanding promise.

The Suk Chamber Orchestra was able to draw on a pool of instrumentalists of truly outstanding quality. This was borne out by the sonorous and musically excellent performances of demanding works such as the Double Concerto for Violin and Oboe in D Minor and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6.

The peak of the festival was the final concert in the Spanish Hall. Wilhelm F. Walz conducted the opening Suk Serenade in E-flat Major, Op. 6, and Mozart’s Symphony in A Major, K. 201, with deep understanding and splendid dynamism.

This ambitious project deserves the attention of prospective sponsors able to support its further growth.

The Suk Chamber Orchestra performed the fourth cycle of Musical Gems at Prague Castle within its historic setting from 8 to 28 June 2000. The orchestra appeared in all but one of the seven programmes.

The programming included a carefully selected share of contemporary composers and works virtually unknown in the Czech Republic, alongside established pieces by Bach, Haydn, Debussy, Bartók, Barber and Dvořák.

The organisers also avoided conventionality in their choice of invited artists. Josef Suk was the prominent Czech performer, playing the Double Concerto by Zdeněk Lukáš together with the excellent double bassist Tomáš Vybíral. Harpist Kateřina Englichová also gave an outstanding performance.

The cycle fulfilled its mission in the aftermath of the Prague Spring Festival. It proved refreshing and attractive, offering greater artistic value than many summer tourist programmes.

The festival programme of the Suk Chamber Orchestra was both traditional and modern. Masterpieces of Czech music were framed by famous works of Josef Suk, full of emotion and depth. The whole evening was enhanced by the ensemble’s high technical professionalism, perfect intonation and rhythm.

The Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale St Wenceslas, Op. 35a, was at first crystal clear, fragile, lyrical and truly meditative. At the culmination, dramatic expression prevailed before the final part returned to the mood of the opening.

Jan F. Fischer’s Concerto for Two Harps and Strings followed, with Jana Boušková and Kateřina Englichová as soloists. František Vajnar conducted, and together with the excellent soloists presented a compact and well-balanced interpretation.

Otmar Mácha’s Homage to Josef Suk was also warmly applauded. Particular credit belongs to concertmaster Martin Kos, whose musicality and invention were equally divided between his own playing and leadership of the orchestra.

The final part of the concert was the crown jewel of the orchestra’s repertoire – Josef Suk’s Serenade in E-flat Major, Op. 6. The perfection of the performance was appreciated in its pastel colours, lyrical emotion and sensitivity. The success earned the musicians three encores.