Prague Spring: Immersed in Stravinsky
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PKF — Prague Philharmonia
Marián Lejava — conductor
Igor Stravinsky
Concertino for 12 Instruments
Octet
Pastorale
Pour Picasso
Epitaphium
Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo
Septet for clarinet, French horn, bassoon, piano, violin, viola and cello
Ragtime for 11 Instruments
Prague Spring
Chamber music assumes an inconspicuous, but certainly not marginal, place in the oeuvre of Igor Stravinsky. Even though it is overshadowed by his famous ballets, we will find veritable treasures here, flawlessly polished masterpieces. “The composer entertained himself, the musicians for whom he wrote these works, and the audiences,” states Josef Třeštík, the festival’s Programme Director. These short, supremely virtuosic pieces moreover capture the essence of what we perceive to be chamber music – nonverbal communication between players making music together. “I am delighted that these players will be outstanding members of the PKF-Prague Philharmonia, who will bring Stravinsky’s chamber music to life in the year we mark the 50th anniversary of his death,” Třeštík adds.
Marián Lejava
Marián Lejava is a prominent conductor and composer in Slovakia. He has twice been the recipient of the Radio_Head Awards in the Album of the Year category (2014 and 2017), he won two Music Fund awards (2003 and 2018) and various international accolades. He is sought after as a conductor of the 20th and 21st-century repertoire and he has premiered around 120 works by contemporary composers. In the years 2000-2009 he was principal conductor of the VENI ensemble, and he initiated the launch of the VENI academy, where he worked as conductor and lecturer until 2015.
He regularly collaborates with the Slovak Philharmonic and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, and he also conducts opera and symphony orchestras in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, France, China and Japan. He features in twenty CD recordings. His music has been performed at numerous international festivals and he has released two albums devoted to his own works.
In 2016 he presented his first stage work Gottgefällig at Košice State Theatre, which was subsequently performed at the Eurokontext International Theatre Festival in Bratislava. He has been teaching composition and conducting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava since 2007; he also headed the Opera Studio there until 2014.
