Today I had the pleasure of interviewing my friend Jonáš Krejčí, the cellist from the famed Pražák Quartet. With over 60 CDs to its name, the Quartet has long been recognised as among the best classical ensembles in Europe. On September 28, they will launch their inaugural festival. Five concerts with different programs will be performed over four weeks at the stunning Hlahol Hall, an Art Nouveau masterpiece which is rarely open to the public.
Q: Jonáš, what was the motivation for the Festival? A: There were two ideas behind this. When we play abroad, we are privileged to work with some very fine musicians. The Festival brings several of our regular collaborators to local audiences in Prague. The second motivation is the musical history and architectural beauty of the Hlahol Hall. Built in the early twentieth century for the Hlahol Singing Society, it was designed by Josef Fanta. Bedrich Smetana was one of Hlahol’s first choirmasters and Josef Mánes created the Society’s banner. The Hall also features a superb mural by Alfonse Mucha titled “Czech Song“. It’s a stunning venue, but it is underutilized. We hope that by making Hlahol the home of our festival, we will spark a resurgence of interest in this wonderful space as a home for chamber music.
Q: Who will be playing with you? A: There will be five concerts – all but one of them will include our collaborators. François Dumont is an acclaimed French pianist whose career was launched after prize winning successes at several international piano competitions, most notably the 16th International Chopin Competition. He has performed as a soloist with major orchestras and has made chamber music collaboration an important part of his musical life. Kelley O’Connor is a Grammy award winning American mezzo-soprano , truly one of the most compelling vocal artists of her generation. She joined us for our November 2024 West Coast USA concert and we immediately asked her to join us for our first festival. Our third collaborator is home grown – clarinetist Anna Paulova is a rising star of the music world and a laureate of many Czech and international competitions as well as the recent winner of the Jiří Bělohlávek Prize. In addition to her solo career, she is an avid chamber musician.
Q: When are the concerts? A: 28 September at 4.30pm, and 4, 18, 24 and 25 October at 7.30pm. Each concert will last around 90 minutes.
Q: How do I buy tickets? A: Tickets can be purchased online at www.prazakquartet.com/boom at CZK400 or CZK1500 for a subscription to all five concerts. The program details are all there in the link. Tickets may be sold at the door but I would advise patrons to reserve online. By the way, we will be offering fine Czech wines for sale at each concert during intermission. All the wines will be guaranteed for quality and origin by APELACE CZ , with different vineyards being featured at each concert.
Q: What do you hope to achieve through the Festival? A: Our vision is for the Quartet to present to Prague audiences a selection of the programs we have performed abroad, and to introduce them to some of the world’s leading musical talents. One of those great talents is the Czech-Dutch composer Tomáš Prechal, who has written a string quartet especially for this occasion. We hope that our audiences will have a memorable musical experience in an extraordinary historic venue.
*Interview by Alan Rassaby. Photographs in Hlahol by Jakub Pelnař.
