2007

The last part of the series looking behind the scenes of the International Music Festival Prague Spring held in the Czech Republic consists of two parallel stories, depicting the realization of two compositions created especially for this music event and premiered there- Sylvie Bodorová: Juda Maccabeus, an oratorio on the themes of the Old Testament; Peter Graham: Subida . The premiere of the former piece was held in the St. Venceslaus cathedral; the latter was premiered in a former factory hall in Prague’s Karlín quarter. The former composition is classical, the latter rather experimental; the former has a detailed score, the latter grants the performers more freedom; the former is monumental, the latter belongs rather to the sphere of chamber music; both, however, are far from being part of the regular repertoire, nor do they represent the common ways of interpretation.

The film was supposed to become the climax of the music series for which the director Pavel Koutecký had been collecting material for several years. Unfortunately, the director died tragically in April 2006, leaving behind an unfinished body of work.

It has become a self-imposed duty for the co-authors of the film to finish the work. As a really unique project, it tore down the stereotypes of presenting the world of so-called classical music in the media. The world of the classical music is both the one of tragedy and comedy, as is everything connected with man.

© Prague spring, Film & Sociology, Czech television