Springtime Festival Prologue

April 26, 2007, Prague Crossroads (St Anne’s Church)

Vladimír Godár: MATER

…As though prodded on by the awareness of taking part in something exceptional, all of those involved contributed to the concert version of Mater becoming a genuine triumph.
Lidové noviny newspaper, April 30

Iva Bittová´s performance furnished the perfect counterpoint to the space of the church, one of a kind in its age-worn uniqueness. … The Strings of Autumn ushered spring to Prague in a previously unheard manner, setting the benchmark for itself as well as for others very high indeed. One can only look forward to the Strings´ autumn programme.
Harmonie magazine, Luboš Stehlík, June

With a concert presenting the project mounted by Vladimír Godár in tandem with Iva Bittová under the title Mater, the organizers of the Strings of Autumn Festival added an extra touch of lustre to the official announcement of this year’s edition of the event.
iReport.cz, March 11

One could hardly imagine a better choice of programme than the one made by the popular festival for the special concert prefacing this year’s Strings of Autumn. In the packed auditorium of the Prague Crossroads (St Anne’s Church), guest artists from Bratislava, in tandem with Iva Bittová as the evening’s soloist, introduced the concert version of the CD Mater, the work of the Slovak composer Vladimír Godár, also present in the hall.
Právo newspaper, Vladimír Říha, April 28

As though prodded on by the awareness of taking part in something exceptional, all of those involved contributed to the concert version of Mater becoming a genuine triumph.
Lidové noviny newspaper, Ondřej Konrád, April 30

The Prague-based Strings of Autumn Festival has achieved a tour de force. In late April everything was set for the Prague Spring, with many people meditating over its programme, bartering tips as to which of the anticipated star performers would or wouldn’t actually come. … For its part, the Strings of Autumn came with its own springtime invitation to the musical banquet that was to come in autumn. … Iva Bittová’s performance furnished the perfect counterpoint to the space of the church, one of a kind in its age-worn uniqueness. … The Strings of Autumn ushered spring to Prague in a previously unheard manner, setting the benchmark for itself as well as for others very high indeed. One can only look forward to the Strings´ autumn programme.
Harmonie magazine, Luboš Stehlík, June


INSPIRATION

September 23, 2007, Estates Theatre
Opening Festival Concert

IAN BOSTRIDGE – tenor
ORCHESTRA of the AGE of ENLIGHTENMENT

programme: The Voice of Handel

Handel with the parameters of perfection. … The Prague-based Strings of Autumn Music Festival has been doting on exceptional and precisely profiled, non-random projects. By no means, to be sure, has it limited its programming to the domain of classical, or “serious” music. Nonetheless, the opening concert – a recital of the British tenor Ian Bostridge – did come as an example of that particular category, and what a superb example it was.
Hospodářské noviny newspaper, September 25

The Strings of Autumn has opened in a brilliant way. … The thirty-strong Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with the tenor Ian Bostridge took care of a first-rate inauguration. … Ian Bostridge is in flawless command of his less than grand yet clear and invariably sonorous voice. His rendition is “intellectual”: his progress towards an aria leads through text and its interpretation. An approach that may be less spectacular at first sight, but one which is ultimately thoroughly awesome.
Lidové noviny newspaper, Dita Kopáčová Hradecká, September 25

A programme characterized by preference for authentic creative individualities over rigid genre brackets brings in, as has already become a tradition, with the first day of autumn a harmony of dynamism and nostalgia in the form of a wide and rich palette of musical styles and variety of venues.
Mix.cz, Ivan Novák, September 25

A fascinating opening for the Strings of Autumn… Bostridge is the ideal representative of the contemporary British vocal art – his smooth, pleasantly sounding voice, benefiting by the transparent sonic support of the smaller-format orchestra, negotiates the technical trappings of Baroque music with ease and with no force applied, as if it was handled by a cultured reciter, restrained in his expression and at the same time capable of getting across each nuance of the text’s meaning, rather than belonging to an opera singer.
Harmonie magazine, Michaela Freemanová, November

Equally successful was the sheer refinement of the performance, in what was its Czech debut, of the British period instrument ensemble, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, which interspersed the individual arias with Handel’s instrumental compositions.
MF Dnes newspaper, Věra Drápelová, September 25

Expression-wise, he sets forth to grasp the predominantly intimate feelings of the Baroque protagonists, doing so without the least sign of superfluous ornamentation; his impeccable concentration on the sung texts (Italian and English) had the audience savour a fascinating experience. (Review of Ian Bostridge’s concert.)
Právo newspaper, Vladimír Říha, September 25

Handel with the parameters of perfection. … The Prague-based Strings of Autumn Music Festival has been doting on exceptional and precisely profiled, non-random projects. By no means, to be sure, has it limited its programming to the domain of classical, or “serious” music. Nonetheless, the opening concert – a recital of the British tenor Ian Bostridge – did come as an example of that particular category, and what a superb example it was.
Hospodářské noviny newspaper, Petr Veber, September 25

October 2 and 1, 2007, Prague Crossroads (St Anne´s Church)
ANA MOURA & GROUP

programme: Portuguese Fado

Among the initiated, Ana Moura has enjoyed considerable repute as a cultured, emotional, yet expression-wise highly flexible singer.
Reflex magazine, September 26

The spellbinding Ana Moura plays on the string of fate… For the Portuguese fadista Ana Moura, selling out New York’s Carnegie Hall was not a problem. No wonder than that it was as easy as pie for her to pack the Prague Crossroads auditorium at St Anne’s Church for tomorrow’s concert as well.
Bohemia dailies, Tomáš S. Polívka, October 1

Now you, too, have the chance to enjoy Ana Moura’s phenomenal concert at the unique Strings of Autumn Festival.
MF Dnes newspaper, Ona dnes weekly supplement, October 1

The singer Ana Moura ranks among the foremost present-day interpreters of fado.
Scena.cz, October 2

The Strings of Autumn will also witness the Czech debut of Ana Moura, singer of the traditional Portuguese fado. Earlier this spring Moura produced a new album entitled Para Além da Saudade, which has already scored points in the world music charts, and was featured as a special guest of a recent giant Rolling Stones’ concert in Lisbon. Backed by the traditional outfit comprised of Portuguese guitar, classical guitar and double-bass, Moura will appear at the Prague Crossroads on Monday, October 1. Due to an exceptionally high demand for tickets, an extra concert to take place on the following day was added to her original Prague schedule.
Aktuálně.cz, September 23


October 21, 2007, Švandovo Theatre

HANDA GOTE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

programme: Ekran – Extended version. Found footage kino

The exploration of ordinary lives in the digital age. Jutting out of the face of this year’s Strings of Autumn is an alien element: namely, the Handa Gote research & development experimental ensemble, with its audio-visual production named Ekran. Its principal moving spirit is musician and sound designer Tomáš Procházka…
Týden weekly, October 8

An expedition back in time involving the hypnotizing rhythms of ambient music and the blinking of vintage projectors is in stock for the audience at the Švanda Theatre on Sunday.
Lidové noviny newspaper, October 20


CROSSOVER

October 25, 2007, Prague Crossroads (St Anne’s Church)

BESTER QUARTET

The Bester Quartet: Visionary Klezmer at Strings of Autumn.
Freemusic.cz, September 25

An inimitable blend of klezmer with classical, jazz and contemporary serious music will be presented at the Strings of Autumn by Poland’s Bester Quartet.
Mix.cz, October 23


October 30, 2007, Dvořák Hall, Rudolfinum

NOUBA AT THE RUDOLFINUM

The Rudolfinum smelled, tasted and sounded exotic… The atmosphere of something extraordinary also prevailed on the Dvořák Hall’s platform, carpeted and lit unobtrusively by Oriental lamps. … The climax of Tuesday night, however, came definitely with de Falla’s El amor brujo in the original version. … Flamenco artist Ginesa Ortega Cortés stole the show with her spellbinding, impassioned singing and recitation.
MF Dnes newspaper, November 1

November 18, 2007, Dvořák Hall, Rudolfinum
Closing Festival Concert

REGINA CARTER QUINTET

programme: I‘ll Be Seeing You

Likewise an important factor was the by no means overelaborate playing style observed by all members of the outfit. Whichever of them was offered room for a solo, it was invariably accessible, with clearly defined beginning and end, and in most cases highly traditional in the best sense of the word. A particularly rich improvising palette applied with the use of the widest variety of playing techniques singled out the pianist, Xavier Davis.
Mix.cz, November 21

Though Regina Carter derives her idiom from mainstream jazz, her art makes of her one of the most positively creative female jazz interpreters of our time.
iDnes.cz, November 15

Jazz violin of the future in the hands of a black beauty…
Týden.cz, November 15

… In many respects the opposite of her predecessors (being a woman, and an African-American), Regina Carter does rank among major international stars. That the appearance of her quintet at the Rudolfinum … is closing this year’s edition of the Strings of Autumn Festival, is eloquent enough, not just as a proof of the event’s high prestige, but also since like many of the Festival’s other artists, Regina Carter embodies the all-encompassing programming of this Festival whose import for Prague has been extraordinary.
Reflex magazine, November 15

An unorthodox violin spree in the Rudolfinum… The roster of trump cards up the sleeve of one of the greatest woman jazz musicians of our time includes her classical music training, coupled with a specific approach to jazz interpretation. Regina makes her audiences sit back in awe by the sheer passion of her tone and by the stunning dynamism of her playing, as she reveals an unexpected rhythmic potential of the violin.
Bohemia dailies, November 16

LUMINARIES

September 26 and 27, 2007, Czech Museum of Music

DREVNERUSSKY RASPEV
(Russian Patriarchate Choir)

Imposing voices of old Russia. … Twelve male singers … unambiguously dazzled the audience by the individuality of their choral interpretation of old Russian liturgical music. Their two Prague appearances at the Strings of Autumn Festival were extraordinary thanks to the uniqueness of the genre alone (their impact being still enhanced by the concerts´ venue, the impressive interior of the Czech Museum of Music). [The choir] has devoted itself to a form that is quite unique, an exclusiveness thanks to which the ensemble defies the standard criteria applied in other music genres.
Lidové noviny newspaper, October 1

October 10, 2007, Prague Crossroads (St Anne’s Church)

CHLOË HANSLIP – violin & JIŘÍ BÁRTA – cello

On October 10, the Strings of Autumn Festival offered a project whose protagonists and programme augured a night of music for the sophisticated listener, performed by top-class interpreters. … There may have been an element of risk involved there for the organizers, nonetheless the outcome was awesome. … Both of the evening’s performers are not just brilliant virtuoso players, but also relate to each other with a sense of selfless respect. To me, on that particular occasion they appeared to be one body, one soul, and one heart.
Harmonie magazine, Luboš Stehlík, November

November 7, 2007, Dvořák Hall, Rudolfinum

BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO

…The concert of the Brad Mehldau Trio was incontestably one of this year’s highlights; the rapport between the players, their assurance coupled with relaxed ease were virtually palpable, not to speak of the individuality of most notably the pianist’s musical thinking, unwinding quite apart from the trodden paths of jazz improvisation…
iDnes.cz, November 9

After last year’s phenomenal success, Prague will witness the comeback, on November 7, of the American jazz pianist Brad Mehldau… Mehldau, 37, is one of the most distinct members of his generation of musicians.
Novinky.cz, Aleš Švamberk, November 5

After his last year’s triumph as a soloist, he brought along for tonight’s concert bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard. They have played together as the Brad Mehldau Trio. Their debut tonight received a standing ovation.
ČTK news agency, November 7

Whoever may have held in doub Mehldau’s talent which ranks him alongside the most highly respected protagonists of jazz music, must have become convinced by this concert. A night like this (with four encores) is indeed beyond the slightest hint of reproach.
Mix.cz, Jan Mazura, November 9

Mehldau offered an elegant flight across the Rudolfinum’s sky. … In the night’s first climax, the Samba d´Amor by Brazilian composer Chico Buarque, the trio took off, to glide on elegantly in Thelonious Monk’s Wee See. … The encores included the eagerly awaited Exit Music by Radiohead, and Riverman by Nick Drake, somewhat ironically delivered this time out in a more subdued spirit than in Mehldau’s solo readings of last year. Which only proved he is an artist seeking for ever new modes of expression.
Lidové noviny newspaper, Ondřej Konrád, November 9

PICK OF PRESS REVIEWS

This country’s most exciting music festival.
ČT 24 television channel, Otakar Svoboda, May 2

How can you tell when a festival has come of age? One indicator is ticket sales, and, by that measure, the 12 year-old Strings of Autumn is a seasoned pro. … In breaking all the traditional borders, Strings of Autumn has established a reputation not only for the quality of its progrmming, but for its willingness to push the performance envelope.
The Prague Post, Frank Kuznik, 19. září

The Festival as a whole is by no means strictly defined in terms of style borders. It will offer projects involved in classical music and jazz, as well as others which tend to oscillate between various styles. Invariably, however, they will be presented by top-notch artists and ensembles, each known for a highly individual approach to the repertoire.
Mix.cz, September 19

Die bunten „Saiten des Herbstes“. … Bereits zum zwölften Mal findet das genreübergreifende Festival statt, das sich durch eine internationale Starbesetzung sowie einer bunten Mischung aus traditioneller und experimenteller Musik auszeichnet.
Prager Zeitung, Stefan Ludwig, 20. září

This year’s edition, already the Festival’s twelfth, will reaffirm its high prestige.
Metropolis, September 20

The Strings of Autumn brings out surprising harmonies, wedding jazz to classical music, and coupling tradition with experimentation. While attending concerts of the Strings of Autumn Festival, you may be confronted with more than one encounter with something that’s either unexpected, or so far untasted by the audience in this country. The Strings of Autumn has not hesitated to depart from the standard programming schemes which have by now largely become obsolete as a result of monotonous repetition, or which have exhausted themselves due to persistence on heavy-handed projects, fearing lack of audience response to unorthodoxy.
Czech Radio, Radioacustica

The Strings of Autumn has embraced the motto, “Jazz and Classical, Tradition and Experiment.” And indeed, it has held this “crossover” concept high for years on end, at what has doubtless been the highest level.
iDnes.cz, Ondřej Bezr, September 21

The enthralled audience rewarded the tenor’s Prague debut by standing ovations. (Review of Ian Bostridge’s concert.)
Tyden.cz, September 24

The prestige of the Strings of Autumn Festival has been mounting… The focus of its programme is exceptionally contemporary, quality-oriented, and laden with surprise… Straddling wide across the borders between genres, the Festival remains faithful to its overall air of sophistication…
Týden magazine, Petra Konrádová, September 24

The ensemble’s performance is literally hypnotizing; indeed, it is no exaggeration to note that there is nothing in the tradition of the Western plainchant comparable to the fascinating experience of listening to the Orthodox chants as interpreted by this formation. (Review of the concert of the Drevnerusskyi Raspev choir.)
24 hodin newspaper, September 26

Among the initiated, Ana Moura has enjoyed considerable repute as a cultured, emotional, yet expression-wise highly flexible singer.
Reflex magazine, Petr Dorůžka, September 26

The melancholy lyricism of the Portuguese fado will enrich the offer of the Strings of Autumn International Music Festival.
Novinky.cz, September 27

A blend of klezmer with classical, jazz and contemporary serious music will be presented at the Strings of Autumn Festival tomorrow by Poland’s Bester Quartet. The ensemble, which has enjoyed the repute of a groundbreaking phenomenon of the avant-garde music scene, will perform a programme made up of numbers from its albums Remembrance, and Sanatorium Under The Sign Of The Hourglass.
Lidové noviny newspaper, October 24

On October 10, the Strings of Autumn Festival offered a project whose protagonists and programme augured a night of music for the sophisticated listener, performed by top-class interpreters. … There may have been an element of risk involved there for the organizers, nonetheless the outcome was awesome. The Prague Crossroads (St Anne’s Church) was packed, and the audience listened with maximum concentration to a programme most Czech festivals would be afraid to offer, ranging from Martinů’s Duet for Violin and Cello No. 1, through Ravel’s Sonata, to Kodály’s Duet, Op. 7. … Both of the evening’s performers are not just brilliant virtuoso players, but also relate to each other with a sense of selfless respect. To me, on that particular occasion they appeared to be one body, one soul, and one heart.
Harmonie magazine, Luboš Stehlík, November

In keeping with its crossover credo, The Strings of Autumn Festival offers room to unorthodox projects, and there, the sheer creativeness of its programming seems to be inexhaustible. On October 30, another Festival initiative transformed the platform of Dvořák Hall into a magic space…
Harmonie magazine, Wanda Dobrovská, December