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Czech television presents
Echo of the Prague Spring 2013
Part II.
Dear friends! Competitions in artistic displicines usually arouse many questions.
How should we measure and evaluate performances
that leave completely different impressions in each of us
and are objectively ungraspable?
Some competitions were nevertheless able to preserve their permanent credit.
Thanks to their history, tradition, and their reception in artistic circles.
One of them is the international Prague Spring competition
organized this year already for the 65th time.
This year in the disciplines French horn and Organ.
I was stressed a little bit but at the same time happy.
I am sure all the finalists enjoy both the honour and the opportunity
to perform with a top orchestra.
The happiness thus prevails.
The conductor of the final concert of the orchestra of young French horn players
is Ondřej Vrabec, himself a great French horn player.
Do you feel any sense of belonging to the performers
and a share on the final result of the interpretation?
Yes, definitely. Since I had the possibility to play this concert myself for several times,
I know the passages when the horn player needs to rest since he lacks breath.
And where it is possible, I try to help the horn player a bit
by shifting the musical stream a little, so he or she could relax for a while
and concentrate on the next phrase he or she has got to play.
The French horn as an exclusively masculine domain? That's history.
And one of the finalists is a lady from Prague, a member of the PFK - Prague Philharmonia
Kateřina Javůrková.
We are very happy. Who is to take credit for this success - together with you, of course?
I have to thank all my professors who devoted themselves to me recently.
Especially professor Bedřich Tylšer, Radek Baborák and Zdeněk Divoký.
I am going to perform in front of my orchestra, in front of my colleagues,
and I am immensely looking forward to it.
There were 91 applications for the French horn,
45 candidates arrived.
There we 42 applicants for the Organ competition,
36 arrived, which is a great success.
The quality of the competition was really high
and the jury was conflict-free.
The collaboration was amazing.
The first price goes to... ...Kateřina Javůrková, Czech Republic!
And the third price goes to Maxim Semenov, Russia.
It's great. It's a kind of reward for one's hard work.
You rehearse all your life exactly because of moments like this.
So I am very happy.
The competition means for me that I cannot see my garden in Jindřichův Hradec in full bloom.
I keep reproaching me for the fact that I will not see it again this year.
I have to say the competition is worth it, though.
But let me speak about something else today.
You cannot imagine what a terrible work it is to move the organ.
This year, the organ was moved from three halls. Back and again.
And from 8 a.m. until midnight, so we arrive at home at half past twelve.
And when we spend so much time with the preparations for the candidates
we hope they will not disappoint us in their future careers.
The organ is the biggest and mechanically the most complex musical instrument.
So I was interested what does it mean for the organizers
when they decide to organize the Organ competition.
The organ as a royal instrument requires a royal service.
And a royal service requires a lot of time.
So besides the adjusting and tuning the organ that takes place before the competition,
each competitor has to have time not only for his or her performance,
but also for the registration.
To prepare for a 10-minute performance, it takes at least 45 minutes.
He or she cannot prepare on any instrument,
they have to rehearse on the same one they will perform with.
So it creates time demands and logistic demands.
Since to organize it in places where normally no concerts are given
not to mention the scope in which we play there,
is really very demanding for us.
We played three different instruments
but I hope I can cope with it well
and I am very much looking forward to the collaboration
with the great orchestra and the conductor. We have had a very pleasant atmosphere here.
I am happy and I am looking forward to the concert tonight.
Not to forget the festival itself,
let us briefly visit its director.
The Prague Spring festival will be exceptional this year.
Since it is only for the second time in the festival history that we decided
to focus the festival programme significantly on a different musical culture.
For the first time it was in 2006, when we focused on our complementary Slovak culture,
And in 2013 it is the French culture, French performers, French music and French inspiration.
I will leave the evaluation of the French "My Country" to others.
But it has been the greatest curiosity of the festival.
But it is not the only curiosity,
we are very happy we can present new works by Czech and Slovak authors this year.
I am happy we could introduce a large piece by a Czech author, living in France, Kryštof Mařatka.
His piece Vábení (Lure) was performed by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
in collaboration with its own Radio France Choir.
I am also very happy that the legendary Ensemble Intercontemporain,
established by the legendary Pierre Boulez
will present to the audience the world premiere of Miroslav Srnka's piece "My Life Without Me."
And last but not least, we will hear two works by an important young Slovak author
Ľubica Čekovská, whose Four Movements for Piano will have its world premiere here,
played by Garrick Ohlsson.
And we will also hear her Violin Concerto, played by the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
with the French violinist Augustin Dumay.
If I were to characterize briefly this edition of the Prague Spring Festival,
I would say: "It is a prestigious and manifold parade with a French charm."
Of course, we cannot miss the announcement of the results of this year's competition.
There we are, in Brožík's Hall of the Old Town City Hall.
Please take your prize as a pledge to the years to come.
A pledge to further endeavour and effort
not only to be a model for your generation
but to become a reinforcement of the world of musical interpretation as such.
We provided a new special prize for this year's competition.
With the collaboration of one of festival's partners
we are going to provide the winner of the competition
with free rental of this cute red car for six months.
- It is all yours, Kateřina! - Thank you!
We know the names of the laureates, we feel emotions, relief and fatigue.
In short, we experienced another edition of the Prague Spring Competition.
The next one, in 2014, will be particularly interesting for bassoonists and oboists.
But I anticipate a bit. We will meet with our next Echo on Sunday,
when you can look forward to see John Malkovich.
Good bye!