Thu, 26. 11. 2026, 19:00 hrs.

B2 Clash of the Elements

Venue: Zlín Congress Centre  |  Organizer: Filharmonie Bohuslava Martinů, o.p.s.  | 

Our guest tonight is the young pianist Jan Čmejla, laureate of several international competitions including the prestigious Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig, in a varied programme invoking the contrasting themes of water and fire, and with the added interest of a world premiere, with the Orchestra's chief conductor Robert Kružík at the podium.

The young composer Ondřej Moťka's symphonic poem Mother refers not to a human being, but to the planet Earth, which we often call our mother, although we do not treat it as such, given our habit of only taking energy and raw materials from it without giving anything back. Nature, however, demonstrates its superiority through the powerful manifestations of its forces as a reminder that it was here long before humankind. This composition portrays Earth's origins and transformations, including the start of human habitation through to the present day marked by conflict, hate and the lust for power. The work concludes not by pre-empting the fate of the planet, but by fundamentally questioning whether mankind belongs on the planet at all.

It was In the early 1930s that Dmitry Shostakovich was considering writing a trumpet concerto for his friend, the solo trumpeter of the Leningrad Philharmonic Alexander Schmidt, but then realising the technical constraints, he decided to build on his original idea and write a significant part for the piano. His original plan for a solo trumpet concerto gradually evolved into a distinctive dialogue between the trumpet and the piano, with the latter coming to play a dominant role. The result was his Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and String Orchestra, a composition that is sparkling and witty, yet full of sophistication and irony, with the composer readily paraphrasing and playing with references to the old maestros such as Haydn and Beethoven. The work, written in 1933, remains a staple of the concert repertoire even today, not only for its virtuosity but also for the pure joy it brings to listeners and performers.

The second half of the programme opens with ballet music from Gounod's 1859 opera Faust, one of the key works of French Romantic music. The composer based the work on Goethe's well-known play, supplementing the final act of the story of the ageing scholar and his fateful love for Marguerite with a ballet scene, as was the custom in French opera at the time. The music in this scene initially seems strangely optimistic, but beneath its surface tension gradually begins to emerge, culminating in a foreshadowing of dark and sinister celebrations of the underworld.

At the end of the evening the Faustian hellfire is washed away by Debussy's impressionistic composition La Mer, depicting the ever-changing evocative atmosphere of the sea's surface. The composer drew his inspiration for this piece from his childhood recollections of the sea, which he sought to express in musical notation, giving them a tangible form through music. In his characteristic style, Debussy tries to capture fleeting impressions and ephemeral moments in an immersive "hic et nunc" impressionistic experience. The result is a vivid and dynamic picture whose extraordinary qualities earned it a permanent place in the repertoire of almost all symphony orchestra repertoires.