Musica non grata is a four-year cycle of opera productions, concerts of symphonic and chamber music, as well as attractive accompanying events. It will take place with the financial support of Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany Prague. The cultural project is scheduled to open with an evening at the State Opera in Prague on 30th August 2020.
Creative freedom of the individual, or certain types of ethnicity, social background and racial origin, have been anathema to the totalitarian ways of thinking, whose latent or entirely open manifestations have always been in society, with the present time being no exception. Musica non grata strives to highlight that which not so long ago took place in our common Central European cultural space, and to contribute to the endeavour to prevent the descendants from repeating the fatal errors made by their ancestors.
Musica non grata is a symbolic tribute to music, is a celebration of art, which can never be silenced.
The State Opera resounded with tones of less-known compositions by Hans Krása and Pavel Haas. You can enjoy the concert recording in February, we will share it with you on the social networks of the National Theater Opera. Until then, have a look at some photos from the recording.
The State Opera Orchestra and soloist Veronika Hajnová performed the Symphony 1923 by Hans Krasa under the direction of chief conductor and music director Karel Heinz Steffens. Josef Moravec, Jaroslav Březina, Jiří Hájek and Ivo Hrachovec paid tribute to Guglielmo Marconi with the song Radio Overtüre op.11 by Pavel Haas.
We would like to thank to all the performers, the artistic and technical departments of the State Opera and the video studio. Many thanks also go to the conductors Mr. Richard Hein and Jana Mimrová.
Musica non grata, full of newly discovered classical music and art, raised its curtain for the first time on 30.8. 2020 at the State Opera and plyed the tones of Bohuslav Martinů, Vítězslava Kaprálová and Alexander Zemlinsky. Unfortunately, it left it closed for the rest of the year and waited for another moment to offer its audience another piece of the rich programme. In December, we made a video clip for the Suite from the opera Brundibár by Hans Krása, directed by Magdalena Švecová and conducted by Jana Cecílie Mimrová. With the Orchestra of the National Theater, we celebrated Bohuslav Martinů's 130th Birthday with a recording of the H199 Serenade and the song "Stop the Music" from the opera Špalíček performed by Marie Fajtová and conducted by Jaroslav Kyzlink. Both recordings will be ready for you during January. Behind the scenes, we are working on an online database of Czech-German-Jewish composers and artists who lived or worked in interwar Prague, because Musica non grata is a celebration of music as a creative human force, pays homage to a legacy of human dignity and presents an opportunity to rediscover music that can never be really silenced, that still resounds and must resound for centuries to come.
The entire Musica non grata team is looking forward to the rest of the season, to a series of morning chamber music concerts at the State Opera, to the gala concert Homage to Igor Stravinsky at the National Theater, to the premiere of Franz Schreker's avant-garde opera Der ferne Klang directed by Timofey Kulyabin, starring Svetlana Aksenová.
The planned premiere of the family opera Schwanda the Bagpiper by Jaromír Weinberger is rescheduled to the next theater season, in the Autumn of 2021. The concerts Music of Terezín Composers, PhilHarmonia Octet and the performance of the children's opera Brundibár in cooperation with the Eternal Hope festival is also postponed to the Autumn 2021.
We wish you a happy year 2021, a year full of artistic and musical experiences.
Sincerely, the team Musica non grata
