Interview with new PRSO chief

In response to the question "What does Czech Radio bring you?" every classical music aficionado would probably say they listen to Vltava, the only national radio station focused exclusively on culture, which is dominated by classical music. They are also sure to be aware of the existence of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (PRSO), which offers 15 season-ticket holders concerts a year at Prague´s Rudolfinum and Municipal House and regularly appears at all important domestic festivals. However, this is far from everything that Czech Radio offers the public in this area. While Vltava mostly plays classical music, it also offers close genres such as jazz, ethno and world music. By contrast the station D-Dur and the website klasika.rozhlas.cz are focused exclusively on classical music. Alongside the PRSO there are other Czech Radio ensembles: the Czech Radio Children´s Choir, the Gustav Brom Czech Radio Big Band and the Brno Radio Orchestra of Folk Instruments. Meanwhile, Czech Radio´s support for young musicians is reflected in two competitions that it runs , Concertino Praga and Concerto Bohemia. At Czech Radio all of the ensembles and both the competitions referred to are now being managed by the PRSO´s acting director, Jakub Čížek. We put the following 10 questions to him.

* How did your career path lead you to Czech Radio and managing music projects, including the PRSO?

Music began to interest me more in my third or fourth year at grammar school. I had studied classical piano at the Trutnov arts elementary school, but my classmates and I played and were more interested in rock and later jazz. Nevertheless, at that time I began listening most intensively to Vltava broadcasts, recording concerts and programmes on cassette and taking an interest in classical and jazz. I knew I wasn’t a good instrumentalist, but I wanted to devote myself to music professionally. That’s why I chose to study music management at the JanáÄek Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno. I moved to Prague in 2000 and began working as a producer at the Prague Autumn International Music Festival. After six years I left for the Czech public performance rights agency OSA, which fit with my law studies at Charles University. Czech Radio opened its doors to me in 2008. I first worked at the international department, where among other things I organised a range of concerts recorded by the station for broadcast abroad within the European Broadcasting Union. Later as director of the Communications and External Relations Department I was responsible for communication and PR, marketing and international relations. In 2014 I became head of music production, and I recently accepted the post of director of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra.

* What is your own personal relationship to music? What are your favourite pieces and composers?

For me classical music is first among musical genres, though I’m also a big jazz fan. In classical music I’m most drawn to music and composers like Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Dvořák, Stravinsky, Janáček and Martinů, as well as Respighi, Ravel, Rachmaninoff and Beethoven. But my tastes aren’t clearly defined. For me, the most important thing is that music captivates me. Captivates me in a positive way. It doesn’t matter how: through melody, harmonic approach, instrumentation or form. It’s beautiful to keep making discoveries in the enormous well of musical compositions created in recent centuries.

* What does the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra mean to you?

When I listened to Vltava as a student, it somehow seemed automatic to me that Czech Radio would have its own orchestra and that was why I was hearing a lot of symphonic music on its broadcasts. As a festival producer I got to know the orchestra from the other side. The PRSO was and remains the most versatile orchestra in the country. It can play anything and is unrivalled in some genres. Alongside the classical repertoire, it can deliver contemporary music, jazz, symphonic rock and film or ballroom music. This scope is admirable. In its mastery I sense the great influence of Vladimír Válek, who as principal conductor shaped the orchestra for over a quarter century (1985–2011). Now as a radio man and music production manager I perceive a third dimension. The PRSO is not just about season-ticket holders concerts, appearances at gala concerts, festivals or benefits, or foreign tours – it’s chiefly about recording music in studios. And here the possibilities for us are infinite. Respectively for the dramaturges who plan individual titles or entire cycles (for instance, the Kabeláč symphonies, Bohuslav Martinů’s works for piano). For me, this is the real essence and also the mission of the PRSO. As in the case of every radio orchestra, the orchestra mainly records national music for tens or hundreds of thousands of radio listeners and preserves it in its archive for future generations.

* What would you recommend to readers in the forthcoming 89th concert season?

The current season offers a total of 17 concerts in two series. The classic series sub-titled “Classics with Refinement” will mainly focus on traditional pieces from the Romantic period and the first half of the 20th century. I would highlight Bartók’s Third Piano Concerto performed by Stefan Vladár on 5.10, then two of Martinů concert pieces on 14.12, linked to the big studio project I mentioned, or a tribute to Czech composers on 8.2 where Marek Šedivý will present contemporary Czech composers (Teml, Filas, Bartoň, Gemrot). “New Horizons” await listeners at the Municipal House. It’s a series we will carry on with in view of its success and in which we want to broaden listeners’ horizons and at the same time reach out to new listeners. On 7.9 we are celebrating Vladimír Válek’s 80th birthday; the programme includes Beethoven’s “Fate” symphony, Suk’s Praga and two popular pieces by Dvořák performed by Václav Hudeček. I’m also looking forward to other concerts in this series. On 12.10 we will voyage from opera to rap with the world premiere of Zdenek Merta’s Shakespeare's RAPsody. On 23.11 we will celebrate 25 years of the show Muzikál Expres with famous melodies from musicals, while in other concerts the PRSO will meet the likes of Epoque Quartet and Dan Bárta and Clarinet Factory. I’m sure listeners will take away new experiences.

* What plans do you have for the 90th season and subsequent ones?

We’re currently planning the 90th season and I don’t want to reveal all our plans and aspirations at this point in time. Nevertheless, we will move forward in the spirit of the PRSO’s mission. We will include 20th century Czech composers, take account of the American Year on Vltava and look back on 90 years of this exceptional ensemble. We also definitely want to continue with our second, more popular series and make new discoveries.

* Every year the competitions Concertino Praga and Concerto Bohemia help young musicians into the limelight. How do you view their futures? And do laureates find their own audiences?

When, several years ago, I first attended a concert of Concertina Praga laureates at the Rudolfinum I was exceedingly surprised at how such young people can interpret concert pieces by world composers that one chiefly knows in renditions by professional artists. But at 14 or 15, they’re professionals too. They’ve been devoted to music from a young age, practice several hours a day and are very well aware that they’ll make a living from music when they’re older. If you look into the history of the competition you find names like Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Alexander Rudin, Maxim Fedotov, Christian Tetzlaff, lsabelle Faust, Lars Vogt, Julian Rachlin, and among Czechs Václav Hudeček, Vlastimil Mareš, Igor Ardašev, Jana Brožková, Ludmila Peterková, Pavel Šporcl, Radek Baborák, Zbyněk Muller, Ivo Kahánek, Václav Mácha and Vilém Veverka. Of the younger generation I could name Julie Svěcená, Tomáš Jamnik or Matyáš Novák. All of them and many others are Concertina Praga laureates and the prize has hopefully helped them all in their careers. You never know who will become an internationally recognised star and our task and goal is to discover such talents and give them a chance. Last year I had my first opportunity to experience the South Bohemian Festival of Concertina Praga, a series of five concerts in South Bohemian towns. At the chateaus in Český Krumlov, Bechyně and Jindřichův Hradec the venues were full, which is gratifying to us and the interpreters and shows that the work is meaningful. As for the Concerto Bohemia, in this competition we give an opportunity to ensembles from music schools in the Czech Republic. Elementary and secondary music schools and of course conservatories sign up. In this competition I’m very inspired by the repertoire of the competitors, which runs from classical pieces to ever more popular film music to brass band music, Dixieland and jazz. The winning ensemble this year, Francisextet from České Budějovice with the Poulenkový Sextet, delivered an exceptionally coordinated and mature performance. I’m looking forward to them and others at this year’s winners’ concert on 18.11, which we’re putting on for the first time at Fórum Karlín in Prague. We will record both competitions and not only in audio. We will make Concertino’s Rudolfinum concert accessible via an internet video stream and Czech Television will record the Concerto Bohemia concert. Video recordings going back several years are available and one can compare and follow the development of young stars with relish.

* Next year the 50th Concertino Praga will take place. Will it be exceptional in any way?

Next year is working out well for us in the most attractive fields: piano, violin, cello, guitar, which also get the biggest response from competitors. Competitors will also have another compulsory composition, so two in total, because we’ve had new pieces composed for this jubilee edition. Jiří Gemrot (piano), Adam Skoumal (violin), Lukáš Hurník (cello) and Lukáš Sommer (guitar) have been involved. Next year we would like to expand the territorial reach of the South Bohemian tour and to include towns represented by laureates, as well as Austria’s Zwettl, the partner town of Jindřichův Hradec. Our plans also include asking some now famous Concertina Praga laureates to link up with the laureates of the 50th edition and perform joint concerts with them.

* Among the projects you are in charge of is the Brno Radio Orchestra of Folk Instruments. Do you have a close relationship to folk instrumental music?

We have no doubt all grown up on folk songs. They’re actually the underlying basis of our musicality, whether we become active musicians or “only” passive listeners. Folk songs are usually the first thing our mothers, grandmothers or teachers sing to us. They subconsciously cultivate our relationship to music, which is what makes them important and sacred. I like the fact that there’s more to them than major-minor – there are various modal forms. I like songs from Moravia and Moravian Slovakia most. My favourites are V širém poli studánečka, Pod tým naším okénečkom, Když jsem šel z Hradišťa and of Bohemian songs Když jsem já šel tou Putimskou branou. What’s wonderful is that you can sing and play them your whole life. For me, folk continuously links tradition with the present. I appreciate the fact that the Brno Radio Orchestra of Folk Instruments tirelessly produces new dramaturgy and arrangements, as well as new songs in the folk song spirit.

* The Children’s Choir is this year celebrating its 70th anniversary. What shape is it in today? And what are Czech Radio’s plans for it in future?

The roots of the Children’s Choir stretch back to the start of the 1950s, when the director and singer Jan Kůhn assembled a group of children for the purposes of school broadcasts. In its history it has been led by the choirmasters Dr. Bohumil Kulínský, Prof. Čestmír Stašek, Luboš Krtička and Dr. Blanka Kulínská. It is she, along with choirmaster Lukáš Jindřich, who gives the choir its artistic shape today. Nevertheless, no ensemble or artist can live off the past alone and therefore we have a big task ahead of us. To make not only music-loving concert-goers and listeners but also professional organisers aware of the choir. I would like the choir to appear more with professional orchestras and at professional venues in future. But we also need to prove its professional quality. Therefore from the new school year we want to intensify rehearsals, including summer camps, and to place a greater emphasis on children’s preparation and discipline. Quality doesn’t just appear. It comes slowly with hard work.

* One thing connects all the projects mentioned – music. But otherwise they are extremely different. Classical music, folk songs, and last but not least jazz. Which of the projects is closest to you? And which would you say is the most demanding?

The most demanding is without doubt the PRSO. An orchestra numbering over 100 musicians is quite a task for a manager. I can’t say that some ensemble or competition is close to me and another isn’t. If I could, I’d go to all concerts and enjoy the beauty of music, which is infinite.