Concentus Moraviae

More than 30 performances are organised annually and each year different dramaturge is invited to conceive a program on a selected theme. Classical music is the overriding genre but folklore and jazz spice the program in some years. Every second edition of the festival is focused on early music. The festival enriches the cultural life of the region as a musical event which is interesting for the local community as well as for guests from all over the country and music loving tourists from abroad. A region of about 12.000 km² is “covered” by festival events.

The festival is organised in a direct cooperation with participating festival towns. Shared cultural experience is a stimulating and connecting element and helps to expand regional cooperation in other areas. Thank to festival activities mayors and representatives of festival towns meet regularly and present the cultural unity of the region a.o. also by a parade of mayors with town flags at the opening concert annually. In festival promotional materials a great emphasis is placed on the presentation of festival towns and region. Presidents of the Southern Moravia, Vysočina and Low Austria regions are traditional patrons of the festival. Concerts are held mainly at historical venues of the region and visitors of the festival often welcome the chance to enjoy the day in the festival town, to visit local restaurants and tour the chateaus and churches in which concerts are organised.

The festival is an annual event of primarily classical music. Focus on inventive dramaturgy is one of the specific features of the festival. Every year another dramaturge is invited to participate in programming of one festival edition – to invent the festival theme, to select artists and ensembles and to discuss programs. Like this, every festival year has a different atmosphere and a specific program direction. Musicians study programs to fill the festival’s theme and so extend their repertoire, the intention is to seek dramaturgically unusual musical presentations and initiate artistic cooperation of musicians who have not met on stage before.

Every second edition of the festival is focused on early music. In 25 years of the festival history, a number of internationally acclaimed musicologists and performers has built the dramaturgy, such as Aleš Březina, Václav Luks, Barbara Maria Willi, Walter Labhart, Jelle Dierickx, Andrea Marcon, Pierre Pitzl, Markku Luolajan-Mikkola or Carine Moretton.

In the frame of early music editions inventive projects have been created (new productions of the baroque operas, workshops and master classes). Annually, even more activities and events is organised to attract a diverse audience (f.ex. “Music on bike” combines a trip on cylclo routes of the Valtice-Lednice Unesco preserved area with two dozens of performances in which local cultural institutions will present their activities, such as festivals, music schools, professional and amateur ensembles.)

Cooperation with Basic music schools of individual festival towns is planted – students are invited to perform within the festival, some of performers give afternoon concerts at music schools.

Many world-known artists and acclaimed ensembles of Early music have performed at the Concentus Moraviae such as Magdalena Kožená, Jordi Savall, Jos van Immerseel, Jean Rondeau, Thomas Dunford, Benjamin Alard, Huelgas Ensemble, Accordone, Collegium Vocale Gent, Café Zimmermann, I Fagiolini, Ensemble Clément Janequin, Collegium 1704, Ensemble Organum, Le Concert d´Astrée, Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien, Les Traversées Baroques etc. as well as many young Czech and European musicians at the start of their careers.

The Concentus Moraviae International Music Festival is a member of the Association of Music Festivals of the Czech Republic and of the REMA, the European Early Music Network. It´s organised by the International Centre of Slavic Music Brno, non-profit organisation.