Concert: Matyáš Novák
Pianist Matýás Novák will perform two enriching programs of Czech music at the National Gallery of Art on September 15, at 1 pm and 3 pm. The programs are in tribute to the Year of Czech Music as well as the Mutual Inspirations Festival commemorating the 200th birth anniversary of acclaimed composer Bedřich Smetana. Celebrate the Year of Czech Music with this brilliant young musician who has won a range of national and international competitions and performed throughout Europe, the United States, and Eastern Asia.
About Matyáš Novák
Born in Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic in 1998, Matyáš Novák began playing piano and violin at age five. He began his studies under Jitka Fowler Fraňková at Pardubice Conservatory in the Czech Republic and graduated from Italy’s Imola International Piano Academy in 2022. He now attends Prague’s Academy of Performing Arts. Novák is the winner of numerous national and international piano competitions and has performed in several festivals worldwide since 2010, including the Vienna Concerto Fest, the Ibiza International Music Festival, and the Bangkok International Piano Festival. He has been a featured soloist with such ensembles as the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, and has performed extensively in the Czech Republic, as well as throughout Europe, Thailand, and the United States. Notable career highlights include his successful concert tours in China; recordings featuring Liszt’s Années de pèlerinage: Première année: Suisse in 2017 and Mozart’s piano concertos K. 413, 414, and 415 with the Czech Wihan Quartet in 2021; a 2017 debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall; and recent placement as a semi-finalist at the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht, Netherlands.
YEAR OF CZECH MUSIC
The Year of Czech Music features a number of significant anniversaries of Czech composers. Particularly, the years ending in four coincide with the anniversaries of the birth, death, or creation of significant works of the most renowned Czech composer including: Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904), Leoš Janáček (1854-1928), Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959), Josef Suk (1874-1935), and Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884). This year is the 200th anniversary of Smetana's birth and 140th anniversary of his death.
PROGRAM
Program 1- September 15 at 1 pm
B. Smetana: Czech Dances (selection)
J. Suk: Song of Love Op. 7, No. 1
L. Janáček: Sonata 1. X. 1905 “From the Street”
B. Smetana / M. Novák: Vltava
Program 2 – September 15 at 3 pm
A. Dvořák: Poetic Tone Pictures Op. 85
J. Suk: Song of Love Op. 7, No. 1
J. L. Dusík: Sonata Op. 61 “Elégie harmonique”
B. Smetana / M. Novák: Vltava
Event Details:
Date/Time: September 15, performances at 1 and 3 pm
Venue: National Gallery of Art
West Building, West Garden Court
Admission is free. Reservations required:
https://www.nga.gov/calendar/concerts/82nd-concert-series/czech-music-matyas-novak-pianist.html/2024/09/15/1300
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