Subsequently, with few exceptions, the YCM took place every following decade and gradually expanded its program to include anniversaries of other giants of Czech music (such as Antonín Dvořák, Josef Suk, Leoš Janáček, Bohuslav Martinů, etc.). The celebrations of the 200^th anniversary will be an ongoing annual event, especially in the Czech Republic.

Throughout 2024, a series of concerts commemorated not only the anniversaries of Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček, Josef Suk, Bohuslav Martinů, and Jiří Šlitr, but also numerous events in which music became an integral part of exhibitions, lectures, and film screenings.

You can find a detailed program of the Year of Czech Music HERE.

Program of the Year of Czech Music in Stockholm:

• January 12 – 13: Czech Chamber Music Festival (Festival of the Czech Chamber Music | Embassy of the Czech Republic in Stockholm (gov.cz));
• February 21st: V4 Film Days: Screening of IL Boemo (V4 Film Days | Embassy of the Czech Republic in Stockholm (gov.cz));
• March 2: Concert of the band “Easy Steps” (Concert of the band "Easy Steps" | Embassy of the Czech Republic in Stockholm (gov.cz));
• May 5: Concert at the Gothenburg Opera to commemorate the 200th anniversary of B. Smetana's birth (Smetana 200 years - Göteborg Opera);
• July 25 - 27: Styrsö Chamber Music Days Festival 2024, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana, who lived and worked in Gothenburg during the late 1850s (Facebook);
• September 1: Piano Festival in Gothenburg commemorating the Year of Czech Music 2024, featuring Trio SMETANA (Pianofestival Pianister | Sweden (goteborgspianofestival.com));
• September 28 - October 28: The Stockholm Opera will present Leoš Janáček's opera, Jenůfa, for which the composer created the libretto based on the drama by Gabriela Preissová (the original Czech title of the opera is Její pastorkyňa).
• October 9 at 18:00: Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, SMETANA AND DVOŘÁK, Czech musical depiction of the Moldau and Dvořák's Seventh Symphony.
• December 8 at 19:00: Nobel Prize Concert 2024, featuring Czech conductor Petr Popelka. The program will include Suita Rustica by Czech composer and conductor Vítězslava Kaprálová.

Throughout the Year of Czech Music, we were accompanied by the painted wooden figure Tititi, created by Tereza Talichová. On the occasion of the celebrations and the 200th anniversary of Bedřich Smetana’s birth, the figure referenced the composer’s favorite work, Libuše.

The graphic design of the Year of Czech Music comes from the studio of Studia Najbrt, and the invitations along with other visual materials were created by Tuan Vuong, a member of the studio’s team.

Compared to previous years, the Year of Czech Music 2024 opened its programme not only to classical music but also to a wide range of other musical genres. As a result, YCM offered the rich variety that the contemporary Czech music scene provides.