Prague, March 21 (CTK) – A total of 131 young musicians will participate in the 69th Prague Spring international competition, held in the harpsichord and violin categories this year, the organisers told reporters on Tuesday.
Thirty-five harpsichordists and 96 violinists have met the conditions of the contest the first round of which will take place as of May 8. The winners will be awarded at the Old Town Hall in Prague on May 15.
Last year, 57 trumpeters and 62 pianists competed in the Prague spring event.
A detailed schedule of the participants is available on the Prague Spring website.
A composition for harpsichord written by young Czech composer Petr Wajsar will be obligatory for those who will advance to the competition’s second round. They will have a special music instrument at their disposal to meet the composition’s special character.
Italian harpsichordist Fabio Bonizzoni will chair the jury of the harpsichord section.
The premiere composition for the violin contest, The Ballad of Nacken and the Violinist, was written by Czech David Lukas.
Renowned Czech violinist Ivan Zenaty has become the chairman of the violin contest’s jury.
The 72nd Prague Spring international music festival will be traditionally opened by Bedrich Smetana’s My Country symphonic poem on May 12, this time by the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Daniel Barenboim.
Like last year, the opening concert will be broadcast live in selected cinemas and on a large screen in the Kampa park in Prague centre.
The festival will be closed by Seven Gates of Jerusalem by Krzysztof Penderecki who will conduct the Symphony Orchestra of Czech Radio on June 2.
The largest classical music event in the Czech Republic will offer more than 40 concerts this year.
