Berg Orchestra
| Berg Orchestra | |
|---|---|
| Orchestra | |
| Native name | Orchestr Berg |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Location | Prague, Czech Republic |
| Principal conductor | Peter Vrábel |
| Music director | Peter Vrábel |
| Website | www.berg.cz |
Berg Orchestra (Czech: Orchestr Berg),[1] initially formed as a group of like-minded music students in 1995 and officially founded in 2001 by Slovak conductor Peter Vrábel,[2] is a professional orchestra in Prague, Czech Republic whose stated objective is "to constantly search for inspiration and accommodate new impulses from every sphere of contemporary life."[3]
Aside from its performances in traditional concert halls, Berg performs in museums and sewage treatment facilities, on theater stages, in churches and synagogues, and sometimes accompanies silent film screenings or dance performances. The orchestra’s director Eva Kesslová says choosing the spaces for the performances is an important aspect of their work.[3]
History
[edit]When Berg held its first season as an independent chamber orchestra in January 2001, the organizers were well acquainted with what they faced. "The music scene could be described as post-socialist", says Vrabel, who became Berg's conductor and artistic director. "Audiences rejected anything that was a bit more avant-garde, and many musicians looked at contemporary music with total disrespect. We had to learn how to live in freedom."[4] Vrábel is a guest conductor at the National Theater in Prague.[5]
Collaborations
[edit]Collaboration is central to Berg Orchestra. International composers with whom the orchestra has closely worked include Heiner Goebbels,[6][7][8] Fausto Romitelli,[9] Lera Auerbach[2] and many others, along with such renowned Czech figures as Marek Kopelent[4] and Martin Klusák. The orchestra enjoys a longstanding collaborative association with the Spitfire dance theatre company.[10] In 2018, Berg Orchestra collaborated on the world premiere of the Tiger Lillies' Bohemian Nights show in Prague.[11]
Films
[edit]In 2009, at the Spanish Synagogue in Prague, Berg premiered Jan Dušek's incidental music for E. Mason Hopper's 1922 silent film Hungry Hearts.[12] featuring a live recording of Berg Orchestra premiering Jan Dušek's incidental music, official website.</ref>
Nuberg Award
[edit]The competition gives out one Nuberg Award per year. The jury consists of distinguished figures from the international contemporary music world who, according to Vrábel, are entirely from outside the Czech Republic, and not only for the objectivity they provide. He told Česká pozice: "It’s also for the young composers to have feedback from the international music scene".[2]
Outside awards and recognition
[edit]Peter Vrábel is a Gideon Klein Prize holder.[13] In 2010, Vrábel and Berg Orchestra were commended for artistic excellence and the promotion of Czech music by the Czech section of the International Music Council of UNESCO.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ von Collas, W (2001). European Music Directory. K. G. Saur Verlag. p. 11. ISBN 3598114117.
- ^ a b c "Lidové noviny". Lidové noviny (in Czech). Mafra. 9 May 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Volynsky, Masha (26 February 2013). "Berg Orchestra experiments with form and setting of contemporary music". Radio Prague International. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ a b Kuznik, Frank. "Music Impossible: How the Berg Orchestra Persuaded Prague to Join the 21st Century". Czech Music Quarterly. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016.
- ^ "Berg Orchestra". Berg Orchestra official website. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ Kuznik, Frank (26 May 2015). "A modern burnish for Prague Spring". Bachtrack. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ "Goebbelsův scénický koncert na Pražském jaru ukáže různé prožitky války". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Economia. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ "Black On White". Heiner Goebbels. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ "Orchestr Berg připomínal kameníka, který z hromady netříděného materiálu postavil perfektní zeď". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Economia. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ Čechlovská, Magdalena (2 December 2016). "Taneční Spitfire Company na jevišti při krocení koní doprovází hudebníci z Orchestru Berg". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Economia. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ "The Tiger Lillies Staging World Premiere in Prague: The British band will perform Bohemian Nights with the Berg Orchestra". Prague TV (in Czech). 31 August 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ "Hungry Hearts". Berg Orchestra official website. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- ^ "Peter Vrábel". Zapdoc.tips. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019 – via Czech Music Quarterly.
- ^ "About Peter Vrábel". Berg Orchestra official website. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
Further reading
[edit]- "Two Composers on Two Strings". Opus OSM. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013.
- "Raketon - a myriad of sounds on two strings". Radio Prague International (in Czech). 26 August 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- Studený, Ivan (18 January 2016). "Signatura Berg | šest stop komorního orchestru". Czech Radio (in Czech). Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- Jiroušek, Martin (16 September 2015). "Svatováclavský hudební festival uvidí němý film, hudbu zahraje orchestr". Mladá fronta Dnes (in Czech). Ostrava: Mafra. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- Havlíková, Helena (15 December 2015). "Splněný slib Orchestru Berg i ostravská premiéra Donizettiho opery Robert Devereux". Lidové noviny (in Czech). Mafra. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- Romanovská Fliegerová, Anička (12 December 2014). ""A Hundred Metronomes" | Berg Orchestra performances and interviews". Czech Television. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- "Premiere of Jan Šikl's On Meaning of Things". Berg Orchestra official website. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
- Sander, F., Berg Orchestra concert at Petřiny Metro Station, Prague (vid.), Vimeo, May 5, 2014.
