Bohuslav Martinů Days 2026 | Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra

Richard STRAUSS: Serenade, Op. 7
Igor STRAVINSKY: Pulcinella Suite
Vít ZOUHAR: Ritorni
Bohuslav MARTINŮ: Concertino Suite for Violin and Orchestra, H 276

Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra
Joseph Bastian (conductor)
Niklas Liepe (violin)

A Tradition That Refuses to Be Frozen in Time

Bohuslav Martinů, Igor Stravinsky, Richard Strauss, Vít Zouhar. Four composers, four different eras, one shared perspective: tradition is a starting point, not a destination. Each of them engaged with the legacy of the past in their own way – with respect, playfulness, irony, and a free hand.

The evening opens with Serenade, Op. 7, by the twenty-year-old Richard Strauss. A work that still stands firmly in the romantic tradition, yet already reveals the genius behind it. This will be followed by a suite from Stravinsky’s neoclassical Pulcinella, in which the composer explores with detachment and playfulness how to transform Pergolesi’s Baroque composition into a modern language. 

After the intermission, Vít Zouhar’s Ritorni will be performed; as the title suggests, the piece is based on the principle of recurring musical ideas, gestures, and sound structures that transform and re-emerge in new contexts. Zouhar’s music sensitively works with time, memory, and space, offering the listener a contemplative yet internally dynamic experience. The evening will conclude with Bohuslav Martinů and his Suite Concertante for Violin and Orchestra, which combines the soloist’s virtuosity with a rich orchestral texture, the energy of rhythmic structures, and lyrical melody. 

The solo part will be performed by a German violinist Niklas Liepe, winner of the prestigious 2021 Opus Klassik Award, who records exclusively for Sony Classics. Gidon Kremer has described him as a “beeindruckende Künstlerpersönlichkeit” – an impressive artistic personality. He will be joined by the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice, one of the most distinctive Czech chamber orchestras, under the baton of the French-Swiss conductor Joseph Bastian, chief conductor of the Munich Symphony Orchestra, whose work has been described by the media as a “miracle of sound and musical culture.”

More information: https://martinufestival.cz/en/koncert/czech-chamber-philharmonic-orchestra-pardubice-joseph-bastian-niklas-liepe