Our task is to bring new artists, as well as to extend the performance stay of those who are already coming to the US and Canada, while saving on the cost of transatlantic flights by sharing their expenses.
The Czech Events Network is organizing an information and co-ordination service about Czech artists' availability for the Czech communities, clubs and institutions in North America, as well as for professional agencies representing Czech artists. It has been creating a database of artists, their agents and related cultural institutions in the Czech Republic, as well as establishing an Internet based matchmaking system, here, on our specialized web site www.czechevents.net.
The key to our success is timely information about future plans of tour organizers, professional agencies, governmental institutions, associations, clubs, orchestras and artists themselves. If they let us know their plans for future, we could post them on our web site and even actively market their planed activities at the North American continent.
THE STUDENT-CHOIR LUSCINIA
 DATE: FROM JULY UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2008 AND 2009,
BUT NOT OCTOBER
MUSICA FLOREA
 DATE: FEBRUARY 6 - 18, 2009
CZECH NONET
 DATE: OCTOBER 2009 (ENTIRE MONTH)
Friday, October 1, 2009 8pm - Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR
Saturday, October 2, 2009 3pm - Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR
Sunday, October 3, 2009 3pm - University of Oregon/Oregon Bach Festival,
Eugene, OR Beall Concert Hall
Monday, October 4, 2009 - Univ of Oregon (events are not open to public)
Tuesday, October 5, 2009 7:30pm - Umpqua Symphony Assoc., Roseburg, OR (hall
tba)
Friday, October 9, 2009 - Shreveport, Louisiana (details to follow at later
date)
Sunday, October 11, 2009 (matinee, exact time tba) - Mill Valley Chamber
Music Assoc, Mill Valley, CA
Details on the balance of the tour will be released in June.
TRIO D'ARCHI DI PRAGA
 DATE: DATES NOT AVAILABLE YET.
ZEMLINSKY QUARTET
 DATE: JANUARY, FEBRUARY, NOVEMBER 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009 2pm - Schneider Concerts, New School for Social
Research, 66 W 12th St, New York City
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 8pm - Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Coolidge Auditorium, tickets are free but required (concerts are always sold out)
Sunday, November 8, 2009 (time tba) - Neskowin Chamber Music Society,
Neskowin, OR
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 7:30pm, Chamber Music Corvallis, Corvallis, OR
LaSells Stewart Center, Oregon State Univ (875 SW 26th St, Corvallis)
Thursday, November 12, 2009 7pm, Pro Musica, Joplin, MO
(concert hall tba)
Saturday, November 14, 2009 11am, Kansas City Friends of Chamber Music,
Kansas City, MO (concert hall tba)
Sunday, November 15, 2009 2pm, Kansas City Friends of Chamber Music, Kansas
City, MO (concert hall tba)
CANADA
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 time tba, Czech Embassy, Ottawa, ON, Canada
concert hosted by Ambassador Zebrakovsky, details and concert
(location tba)
Saturday, November 21, 2009 8pm - Virtuosi Concerts, Winnipeg, MB Canada
Eckhardt-Gramatte Hall, Univ of Winnipeg
Details on the balance of the tour will be released in June
GRAFEE QUARTET
NFORMATION: rwam.cnc.net
Graffe String Quartet (Czech Republic)
with optional pianist Michiko Otaki (Japan/USA)
late March/early April, 2011
Tour schedule of Graffe Quartet
Live concert broadcast of Graffe Quartet/Otaki
Reviews of Graffe Quartet's American Debut Tour (.PDF)
Graffe Quartet Winner of 2008 Czech Chamber Music Society Prize
Review of Martinu/Schumann CD
Last year the Graffe Quartet was awarded the Czech Chamber Music Society Prize, given at Dvořák Hall in Prague´s Rudolphinum, marking it as the premiere, most promising young ensemble from Central Europe
Critics raved about their last appearances in the USA:
RECORDING OF THE MONTH
"The playing is amongst the most sheerly beautiful I have heard from any string quartet".
Joseph HAYDN (1732 - 1809)
String Quartet in G minor The Rider Op.74 No. 3, Hob. III: 74/3 [21:19]
Felix MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY (1809-1847)
String Quartet in F minor Op. 80 [28:53]
Josef SUK (1874-1935)
Meditation on the Old Czech Hymn St. Wenceslas op. 35 [6:34]
Graffe Quartet (Štĕpán Graffe (violin I), Lukáš Bednařík (violin II), Lukáš Cybulski (viola), Michal Hreňo (cello))
rec. Church of St John The Baptist, Vlasatice, 13-14 June, 7 November 2009. DDD
STUDIO MATOUS MK 0807 [57:07]
One composer from each of three consecutive centuries - that seems to be the pattern. The Brno based Graffe Quartet have thought about a satisfying playing sequence - too short for a recital - and emulated it on disc. We have the touchingly inventive wit of Haydn contrasted with the evolved romance of Mendelssohn and the exalted emotionalism of the Suk.
In The Rider Quartet Haydn’s emotional intelligence is fully engaged with by the Graffe players. Charm and concision are the order of the day. The playing is supple and mercury-heeled matched with adroit tempo choices throughout. The Largo assai positively glows in its exploration of the quietest dynamics. Mendelssohn’s F minor quartet is his Sixth and his last. Fully mature it sports the hallmarks of the great Mendelssohn of the Octet and the Violin Concerto. Though the Haydn is remarkably personal and sensitive the Mendelssohn achieves this with even greater effect. This is music the romance of which has the capacity to move. The Graffe communicate these qualities with considerable power especially in the Allegro assai (II) while the tender Adagio also reaches out to the listener in eloquence and understatement. The hooded ambivalence of the finale combines tension with the romance of the E minor violin concerto.
Suk’s Meditation on the Old Czech Hymn - St. Wenceslas requires and is accorded sustained concentration. It may perhaps have stood as the unacknowledged exemplar for Barber’s Adagio - also originally for string quartet. Vaughan Williams’ string writing in On Wenlock Edge may also have been influenced by this superb work. There are somewonderfully golden playing here with transcendent sounds setting off an arching emotional charge. The cello and the viola sound at times - as at 3:37 - nothing short of harvest aureate.
The playing is amongst the most sheerly beautiful I have heard from any string quartet and by rights Classic FM should be playing the Suk Meditation every day for a year. I trust that these players will soon look to record the two quartets each by Suk and Smetana as well as other treasures from the Czech and Slovak 20th century.
Rob Barnett
GRAFFE STRING
QUARTET
with pianist Michiko Otaki
USA Tour, March/April, 2011
Nearly Final SCHEDULE : Revised:2/7/11
DATE TIME CITY PRESENTER/VENUE
MARCH
26 8:00 pm TAMPA, FL University of Tampa Music Dept./Reeves
Theater
Dvořák Quintet Op. 81 w. Grigorios Zamparas/
Novák Quintet w.Otaki
27 4:00 pm TARPON SPRINGS, FL Tarpon Springs Dept. Cultural Services/
Heritage Museum
Richter/Smetana No. 1//Dvořák Quintet
28 7:30 pm LAKE CITY, FL First Presbyterian Church/697 S.W. Baya Dr.
Mozart K.387/Smetana #1//Schumann
Quintet
29 7:30 pm AMERICUS, GA Georgia Southwestern State University/
Jackson Performance Hall
Richter/Martinu #7//Dvořák Quintet
30
31 7:30 pm DEMOREST, GA Piedmont College/Center for Worship and
Music
Richter/Martinu #7//Dvořák Quintet
APRIL
1 11:00 am GREENVILLE, SC Crescent Music Club/
Greenville Women’s Club
Richter/Dvořák Quintet
2 8:00 pm OAK RIDGE, TN Oak Ridge Civic Music Association/
Pollard Auditorium
Mozart K.387/Faurè Op. 121
//Debussy
3
4
5
6 1:00 pm DAYTON, OH University of Dayton/Music Dept
String & Piano classes
4:30 pm DAYTON, OH University of Dayton/Music Dept
Orchestra coaching
7
8 7:30 pm PORT CLINTON, OH Musical Arts Series/ Firelands
Presbyterian Church
Mozart K.387/Debussy//Novák Quintet
9 8:00 pm DAYTON, OH Vanguard Concerts/ Renaissance
Auditorium,
Dayton Art Institute, 905 W.
Riverview Ave.
NOTE: Sundays are underlined.
Sometimes reviews take a while to appear in print; here's the last one from the Graffe Quartet's U.S. tour this spring!:
Presented by the Vanguard Concert Series, the Brno-based Graffe Quartet opened their April 9, 2011 concert at the Dayton Art Institute's Renaissance Auditorium with Mozart's String Quartet No. 14 in G major, K. 187. One seldom hears Mozart played with such beauty and imagination, even by a single musician -- not to mention by an ensemble entailing four individual musicians to play with a completely integrated, unified concept and style.
Compatibility of tone and expression define this ensemble consisting of Stepan Graffe, violin; Lukas Bednarik, violin; Lukas Cybulski, viola; and Michal Hreno, cello.
With the ensemble's silken smooth tone and attention to detail in articulation, dynamics and phrasing, this finely polished ensemble masterfully illuminated the craft and intricacy of texture in the Mozart quartet.
The Graffe Quartet brought the perfect combination of intensity and elegance to the next work heard on the program, Debussy's String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10. The piece was a perfect vehicle for the musicians to exploit their wide range of instrumental timbres and expression, as they brought added interest and vibrancy to each movement.
Pianist Michiko Otaki joined the Graffe Quartet for the final work on the program, Dvorak's Quintet for Piano and Strings in A major, Opus. 81, B. 155. Whereas as a quartet the four musicians play marvelously as one entity, the quintet came off a bit more like quartet-plus-one. Otaki's technique is commendable, but the degree of folk-inspired passion and gusto seemed to lack as compared to the strings. Perhaps the piano's lack of projection was a characteristic of the instrument itself or its tucked-back placement on stage, but it could have afforded more overall muscle and character. Other than that. the performance came off fluently and was met with enthusiastic applause.
Sonya Szabo Reynolds, The Dvořák Society for Czech and Slovak Music, Newsletter No. 96, July 2011
.jpg) DATE: JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2010
DUE SOLISTI
 Zofie Vokalkova & Kathleen Scheide
DATE: OPEN (EXCEPT 29.4 Princeton NJ, 3.5. Wyncotte & 5.6 Philadelphia)
Max Brod Trio (Germany/Czech Republic)
November, 2010 - North American Debut Tour
Tour schedule of Max Brod Trio (with repertoire)
Publicity Flyer of Max Brod Trio (.PDF)
Review of Max Brod Trio debut CD
The Max Brod Trio, an outstandingly fine piano trio founded in 2005 by Czechviolinist Petr Matěják (formerly of the Martinů Quartet) will make its first American tour during the fall of 2010.
This first visit is limited to a two-week period, so dates will be at a premium and the scheduling very tight; probably it be limited to the Southeastern states, but not necessarily, depending on how things develop.
The Max Brod Trio's debut recording of Beethoven (Op.1, No.1) and Dvořák ("Dumky") received a truly remarkable review, one of the best reviews we've ever seen for a debut recording.:
"Great musicians with innate cohesion and sheer expertise relate music as it is. Their love of and sheer fun in making music is outstanding."
You may see the entire review by clicking here.
NEW RECORDING
Jeff Dimmerman
Raymond Weiss Artist Mgmt. Inc.
(212) 581-8478
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
website: rwam.cnc.net
Antonin DVORÁK (1841-1904)
Dumky Trio, Op.90 (1891) [29:36]
Trio Op.65 [40:53]
![alt]() Max Brod Trio - Kerstin Straßburg (piano); Petr Mateják (violin); Maximilian von Pfeil (cello)
rec. Ackerhaus der Abtei Marienmünster, 8-10 September 2010. stereo. DDD
![alt]() AUDIOMAX 703 1682-2 [70:36] ![alt]()
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The Max Brod Trio bring a welcome sense of clarity and focus to these well-known Dvorák chamber works. The structure of the Dumky is far from clear-cut, but the players make a convincing case for its unity. And there is also a sense of intimacy that pervades the recording, as you would hope to find in all chamber music, but rarely do.
Despite its enduring popularity, the Dumky Trio poses a range of interpretive challenges to performers. Rather than structure the work as a traditional four-movement trio, Dvorák instead gives us a sequence of movements, each in the form of a dumka dance, that is a slow introduction followed by an allegro conclusion. The structure of each individual movement relies on the transition from slow to fast, which Dvorák achieves in a different way in each movement. In each case, he is relying on a sense of surprise, and it is up to the performers to deliver that without relying on undue exaggeration. Nothing comes as a surprise to the players, and there is occasionally a feeling that the meticulous preparation they have put in has damped the spontaneity of these (supposedly) folk dances.
The sheer sophistication of this reading is the one aspect of it that may turn listeners off. Dvorák has taken the Ukrainian dance form - which according to the liner he first learnt of from Janáček - and transformed it for a concert hall setting. The players take that chamber music context for granted and make no effort to recapture the music's folk origins. That isn't necessarily a problem, but to me some of the charm is lost, and without those folk inflections the music risks sounding like second-rate Brahms.
The slow introductions are also more restrained than you will find in most recordings. Where many performers use the following allegro as an excuse for indulgence in each of the preceding adagios, the Max Brod Trio keep a fairly even tempo throughout, with only very controlled rubato and a sense of direction that keeps the music flowing. That allows the overall work to make more structural sense, but sometimes the slow sections seem in need of a little more space.
Curiously, the Max Brod Trio recorded this work only four years previously. That was for a different label (Arcodiva UP 0098 - 2 131) and both the violin [sic!] and cello parts were taken by different players. Perhaps the work makes regular appearances on their concert programmes, or perhaps it just sells well. To me, though, this isn't an ideal performance, it is a convincing foil against the many, many over-indulgent readings on the market, but only works on its own terms thanks to the high technical standards of the playing and recording.
I'm always curious about how MDG achieve their impressive results, given their avoidance of post-production manipulation. The quality of the performers they work with must be part of the answer. But whatever they do to achieve it, the sound is always good. I'm particularly impressed with the balance here, and the way that the cello provides a focused bass sound without ever overpowering. In fact, the cello playing from Maximilian von Pfeil, is a real asset for this ensemble. It is elegant and emotive, but without ever being overstated. Chamber performance at its best.
The Op.65 Trio suits this ensemble's approach better, I think, than the Dumky. It has a more traditional form and a more involved dramatic architecture that works with rather than against their sophisticated interpretive approach. I love the way that they land running at the start of the work, fully engaging the listener from the very first note. And the quiet interludes here really benefit from the players' continuing awareness of the structural logic, a marked contrast to the rushed feeling that it gives to the Dumky adagios. Despite not being as famous, the Op.65 is a more coherent and logical work than the Dumky. It also provides a much better vehicle for the Max Brod Trio's considerable talents.
Gavin Dixon
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