Martinů Walks Through Prague
In 2025 the Bohuslav Martinů Institute will celebrate 30 years since its foundation.
The Bohuslav Martinů Institute has prepared a special project to commemorate 30 years of modern research, resulting in numerous collections, conferences, and concerts that have brought hundreds of international musicians and music lovers to Prague and has promoted Czech culture across the globe.
This travelling exhibition will consist of 6 panels depicting aspects of Martinů’s life and work related to Prague, where the composer studied and lived from 1906 to 1923.
The exhibition will visit leading music institutions (National Library, HAMU Library), and branches of the Municipal Library.
The exhibition will first be shown at the Music Department of the Central Library, where there will be an opening ceremony in 27 March 2025.
On 5 May 2025, there will be an opening of exhbition in National Library, Music Department, with a small concert.
The project will end with a Grand Concert for the 30th Anniversary of the BMI in the main hall of the Central Library on 10 December, where the Zemlinsky Quartet and guests will perform a select repertoire including two Martinů pieces : Serenade for String Trio and Two Clarinets, H 334, and Serenade No. 2 for Two Violins and Viola, H 216.
The winners of the children’s reading contest will also be announced at the event.
The concert will be preceded at 6:30 p.m. by a lecture in the main hall titled “Martinů walks through Prague”, which promises to explore Martinů’s connections with the Czech capital. The travelling exhibition will also be on display in the foyer on the day of the concert.
The celebrations will be supported by the publication of a book summarising the activities and achievements of the institute, entitled 30 Years of the Bohuslav Martinů Institute in Prague.
The book is intended for a wide audience and will provide practical information about the Institute and its services, reflections on its accomplishments (from Sir Charles Mackerras, Christopher Hogwood, Frank-Peter Zimmermann, and many others), a list of all its publications, an overview of the most interesting albums and documents in the library, texts by leading musicians (such as Ivo Kahánek, Petr Nouzovský, Jakub Hrůša and Magdalena Kožená) about their cooperation with the Institute - all this in a richly illustrated edition.
The day of the concert will be further marked by a meeting of guests representing the leading Czech composer institutions and by a presentation of the new book at the Bohuslav Martinů Institute in Prague. Another planned lecture will discuss the Prague premieres of Martinů’s operas and other compositions.