Continuing our recent tradition of special September concerts, this year we move from the Vltava river to Prague Castle's Vladislav Hall for a performance of Benjamin Britten's monumental War Requiem, one of the most iconic works of the 20th century.
The concert takes place under the auspices of the President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel, the Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Minister of Culture Martin Baxa, Mayor of Prague Bohuslav Svoboda, and Chief Councillor of Prague 1 Terezie Radoměřska.
The performance of this great anti-war piece will involve a symbolic coming-together of orchestras – the Prague Philharmonia, Czech Philharmonic, and Kyiv Symphony Orchestra – as well as the Prague Philharmonic Choir, Children's choir Radost Praha, and international soloists (soprano Susanne Bernhard, tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven, and baritone Arvid Fagerfjäll) under the baton of Lukáš Vasilek.
The British composer Benjamin Britten wrote the War Requiem to mark the restoration in 1962 of Coventry cathedral, which was bombed to destruction in the Second World War. It's based on the Latin text of the mass for the dead, interspersed with verses by Wilfred Owen, one of Britain's greatest war poets. The result is a passionate, pacifist manifesto, making its appeal to the listener through the force of music and words. The piece is so monumental and requires so many participants that it is performed only rarely. A memorable and timely event awaits us at Prague Castle.
