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Burnishing the classics

FOK unveils an ambitious new season
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By Frank Kuznik
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
September 5th, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
The esteemed Jiří Kout leads the new season at FOK.
Prague Symphony Orchestra

When: Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 7:30
Where: Obecní dům
Tickets: 1,200–2,640 Kč,
available through Ticketpro, Bohemia Ticket and at the venue
For a complete season schedule, check www.fok.cz

There’s new energy these days in the venerable Prague Symphony Orchestra (FOK), which opens its 73rd season next week with head conductor Jiří Kout leading a blazing triple bill: Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, a Salieri concerto and Stravinsky’s Firebird suite. The thunderous opening heralds not only a new season of ambitious and inventive programming, but fresh approaches and ideas brought to the organization by Ilja Šmíd, the former director of the Prague Philharmonia who took the reins at FOK in the spring of 2006.
Big organizations move slowly, so it’s taken a while for Šmíd to hire a younger staff, freshen everything from the orchestra’s Web site to its stage presentation and put his mark on the performance schedule. The results, on display for the first time this season, are impressive.
“It’s a very full schedule,” Šmíd acknowledges in an interview at his office in Obecní dům. And that’s only in reference to the 12 different series jammed into the 2007–08 season. If you get Šmíd warmed up, he’ll tell you about the orchestra’s tour schedule and series like “Forgotten Works of the 19th Century” that he wants to put on and his plans for a special “Opera Stars of Tomorrow” event in the spring.
For the moment, however, FOK’s new season offers plenty for both serious and casual fans of classical music.
The main series includes two particularly noteworthy concerts. Kout will be joined by a great soloist, Russian-born violinist Alina Pogostkina, for an evening of Czech music (Nov. 13 and 14) that includes Martinů’s sixth symphony, which Šmíd  calls “one of the most important symphonies of the 20th century.” And Zdeněk Mácal will take a break from his conducting chores with the Czech Philharmonic to lead a heavyweight double bill of Shönberg and Richard Strauss (April 15 and 16).
There are two remarkable vocal works on the schedule. Serge Baudo will orchestrate a sprawling cast of three singers, two narrators and the Prague Chamber Choir along with FOK in a rare performance of Arthur Honegger’s King David (Oct. 2 and 3). In the spring there’s a world premiere of Czech composer Zdeněk Lukáš’s oratorio Adam and Eve (May 7), which was written in 1964.
“That year Lukáš was invited to a workshop at Darmstadt,” Šmíd explains. “After the first day, he said, ‘There’s nothing in this for me.’ So he stayed in his hotel room the rest of the time and wrote this oratorio. Because he was regarded as a ‘folklore’ composer, it was never performed. But it’s very contemporary, with some interesting experimental techniques. I think it’s an important work and am really looking forward to hearing it.”
Some of the most interesting concerts will not be at Obecní dům, but at the church of Sts. Simon and Jude, where there are five series scheduled. Šmíd has assembled a great cast of performers for chamber music performances there, including violin superstar Pavel Šporcl and piano accompanist Petr Jiříkovský (Oct. 2), violinist Gabriela Demeterová and her quartet (Oct. 16), the excellent but seldom-seen Pavel Haas Quartet (Nov. 1), the Zemlinský Quartet (Dec. 6) and a trio featuring young piano sensation Ivo Kahánek (Feb. 7). These are only the most well-known names from a long list of first-rate performers and ensembles.
Admittedly, much of the above is for aficionados. For balance, there’s an orchestral series devoted to more accessible music (like Beethoven, Brahms and Haydn), a solo piano series at the Rudolfinum, an entire chamber music series devoted to Baroque and early music, and several programs for children, including a “Klub Fík” they can join to learn more about classical music. Šmíd did wonderful programs for young listeners when he was at the Philharmonia, and is looking to expand them with FOK.
And he’s making other efforts to draw in new or novice listeners. Since dress rehearsal concerts worked so well for the Czech Philharmonic last season, FOK will be doing several this year. You have to be free at 10 a.m., but tickets are only 100 Kč ($5). Šmíd is also talking to Obecní dům management about opening up a space for pre-concert lectures and offering a wider selection of refreshments during intermission.
The only down note in all this is a cancellation of what was to have been the opening concert of the season at Prague Castle Sept. 9. Šmíd is reluctant to discuss details, other than to say he had an “unpleasant conversation” with castle management. This is not an uncommon experience for anyone trying to work with the castle on cultural events other than the president’s beloved jazz concerts.
Classical orchestras are traditionally hidebound institutions, slow to change, especially in a city with five major orchestras carrying on a centuries-old music tradition. So it’s exciting to see one of them brightening its look and approach, doing creative programming, taking risks and hustling to get people in the door. Pick out a concert you like (or pick out the eight-pack “Ad Libitum” package for a 20 percent discount) and catch some of FOK’s contagious new energy.
         
    
   

Frank Kuznik can be reached at fkuznik@praguepost.com


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