Festival history

More than 30 concerts of the 32nd festival season graced 12 concert venues, 4 of them for the very first time. The opening concert French Night brought works of Romanticism and Impressionism to the Summer Riding Hall thanks to pianist Alexander Melnikov, dancers from Les Ballets Bubeníček and participants of the 1st Bubeníček Ballet Masterclasses. Other highlights of the festival included concerts Bernstein Meets Gershwin featuring Broadway stars and Viva España with guitarist Pablo Aguirre and Spanish singers. Soprano Simona Šaturová performed at the Il Boemo & Wranitzky concert, which also featured the modern premiere of Pavel Vranitzky's classicism ballet The Forest Maiden. The chamber concerts featured, among others, the Smetana Trio and Josef Špaček with Miroslav Sekera. The concert Classical, but Comical with Jan Budař opened the world of classical music even to most hesitant ones. The festival was crowned with the Famous Opera Choirs and Carmina Burana with the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno and excellent soloists Adriana Kučerová, Anthony Gregory and Boris Prýgl.

2021 The 30th anniversary edition of the festival was held for the second year in a row under exceptional circumstances in September. In spite of the still difficult pandemic situation, it lived up to its tradition and brought several big names in the international music scene to the Czech Republic. After 10 years, the world-class opera star Maestro Plácido Domingo returned to Český Krumlov and opened the festival spectacularly with his concert with soprano Adriana Kučerová and mezzo-soprano Štěpánka Pučálková. Adam Plachetka was crowned the pleiad of the most important opera singers of today with his concert in Castle Riding Hall. The end of the festival belonged to the phenomenal Spanish violinist Leticia Moreno and the Violin Concerto in A minor by Antonín Dvořák, whose birth is 180 years ago. This year's novelty was the opening of the Festival Zone, which hosted spectators and the general public since August. During the 6 weeks, it offered many activities such as painting, summer cinema, concerts, outdoor games, etc. More than 16,000 spectators visited the zone and other accompanying events during the festival. This year, a documentary about the festival and a book illustrating its 30-year history were also produced.

Right at the beginning of the festival, visitors moved to the time of Louis XIV through music, dance, the art of illumination, and other effects. The opening gala evening at the baroque fountain called Venus and the Elements presented the entertainment that Louis XIV himself had. actively participated as a dancer. The audience witnessed the real dance of the Sun King, who changed 246 dance positions in 126 seconds, to the music of Jean-Baptist Lully,  in a copy of the costume in which the monarch himself danced. The vocal ensemble Take 6 thrilled the audience with its concert. With the Michael Jackson Symphony project, the festival paid tribute to Michael Jackson.

The festival of 2017 began with a concert by Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu and Mexican singer Ramón Vargas accompanied by the Prague Philharmonia Orchestra. However, the concert was affected by the storm and therefore could not be completed. The 26th edition was packed with world-famous classical music artists. The audience was enchanted by soprano Marcela Cerno, cellist Misha Maisky, pianist Shiran Wang, violinist Bohuslav Matoušek, violinist and conductor Julian Rachlin, or violinist and violinist Sarah McElravy. The EURORADIO Folk Festival brought a great experience to the visitors. Thanks to the cooperation with Czech Radio, he visited the Český Krumlov festival with thirty bands. The festival ended with a celebration called Night of the Baroque Mastersaccompanied by Barocco sempre giovane with solo trumpet player Marek Zvolánek.

The main star of 2015 was the world-famous South Korean coloratura soprano Sumi Jo, who opened the twenty-fourth year of the festival with an operatic recital together with the Italian tenor Danilo Formaggio. Immortal songs from James Bond films and world-famous musical melodies performed by singers and a conductor from New York's Broadway were also held in Český Krumlov. The recital of one of today's important Czech guitarists, Lubomír Brabec, or the traditional national evening, was also a success. This time they traveled to Cuba accompanied by trumpet player Jorge Vistel.

The face of the 22nd edition of the International Music Festival was the Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, who opened the festival with opera arias and songs by Russian or French classics of the previous century. Other stars were the South Korean piano virtuoso Kun Woo Paik, our successful bass-baritone Adam Plachetka, or the Bulgarian violinist Albena Danailova, the first lady as a concertmaster in the history of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic. The congratulatory concert on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the Čechomor group or the concert of The Queen Symphony, which was postponed last year, was also among the big events.

The charismatic Argentine tenor José Cura arrived at the festival for the first time, uniquely interpreting the arias of Italian opera masters Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini. This year, the festival again included in the Revolving Auditorium program, which was performed by Mozart's opera Don Giovanni, directed by Jiří Menzel. In the nineteenth year, the world-famous ensemble Kremerata Baltica performed with violinist Gidon Kremer. And there were also concerts of other genres. The Krumlov stage welcomed jazz trumpet player James Morrison for the second time, and despite the bad weather, a concert from the Night on the Broadway cycle was held by three singers directly from New York's Broadway. Pavel Šporcl's most sought-after project with the gypsy dulcimer band Gipsy Way Ensemble and Mexican Evening was a great success.

The seventeenth edition of the International Music Festival of the festival began with magnificent scenography. The contraaltist Alison Bolshoi entered the stage from a gradually developing flower and, together with other soloists and the Prague Chamber Philharmonic under the baton of Daniel Raiskin, sang famous arias on the theme of Love and Death. The excellent clarinetist Sharon Kam, accompanied by the North Bohemian Philharmonic Teplice under the baton of Charles Olivier-Munroe, performed in the Castle Riding Hall. Even in 2008, there were concerts of another genre at the festival. For the first time in history, Night on Broadway with American soloists took place, and Oscar winners Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard or jazz trumpet legend Bobby Shew visited Krumlov.

The festival celebrated its fifteenth birthday with a really various program. One of the main stars was the conductor Maxim Shostakovich, the son of the world-famous composer Dmitry Shostakovich, under whose baton the pianist Jeong-Won Kim and the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra played. An important event in 2006 was the first-ever festival performance in the castle's Baroque theater. During the evening, Pergolesi's opera La Serva padrona was performed in a baroque arrangement by the baroque music and dance ensemble Collegium Marianum.

The year 2004 was marked by several historical premieres. The festival lasted whole six weeks for the first time in its history, and it was full of foreign and domestic stars. The Australian jazz trumpet player and composer James Morrison, the author of the opening track of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, visited Český Krumlov for the first time. The concert at the exceptional Egon Schiele Art Center also took place for the first time. On the occasion of the thirteenth year, a project of baroque nights was also created.

The summer of 2002 was not very lucky for the festival, but especially for Český Krumlov. After several concerts and heavy rain, the city was hit by a catastrophic flood. We were forced to interrupt the festival and it was uncertain whether it would continue. We haven't played five of the originally planned nineteen concerts. However, the weather improved, the water receded and the last few concerts could take place. The end of the festival belonged to the Chinese violinist Bin Huang and the Czech Philharmonic under the direction of conductor Vladimír Válek. These artists gave up royalties in favor of the city, their financial resources were joined by the companies present and, of course, the festival. He donated the proceeds from the entrance concert to the citizens of Český Krumlov living in the most affected Parkán Street.

The Millennium brought twenty-three performances and more than 630 artists, including the New York Metropolitan Opera soloist Olga Makarina, Slovak bassist Peter Mikulas and Chinese violinist Bin Huang. The year 2000 also introduced dramaturgical delicacies in the form of modern premieres and a novelty - an opera performance at the Revolving Auditorium in Castle park (Don Giovanni in collaboration with the South Bohemian Theater).

The dominant venue of the 7^th edition of the  International Music Festival has become the newly reconstructed second courtyard of the chateau Český Krumlov. The opening concert was opened by the Prague State Opera Orchestra with conductor Jiří Stárek and the Prague Philharmonic Choir with the famous composition by Carl Orff Carmina Burana. Verdi's Requiem sounded at the final evening. As the concert drew to a close, it began to rain slightly. However, nature wanted to close the festival with grace, so it was fully showered with the last tone of the song.

The half-year anniversary of the festival deserved a breathtaking experience – the concert on the southern terraces of the castle gardens overlooking the Vltava river and Český Krumlov town itself. Visitors could enjoy the magical atmosphere, twinkling lights, the murmur of the river… And all this while listening to the exceptional vocal-instrumental work of composer František Xaver Thuri "Water Music for Český Krumlov", which was created at the request of the festival as a tribute to the city and its beautiful history. The non-traditional opening concert was attended by the then British Ambassador Sir Michael Burton, who said: "I am glad that Český Krumlov also has its Water Music after London". It is interesting that part of the prologue to Thuri's work is still used by the Český Krumlov festival as its jingle.

The opening of the third year of the festival brought an unforgettable experience to the visitors s in the form of the concert on the island on the pond in the Castle Garden. Besides 1500 viewers of Czech Television watched the concert and thanks to Japanese television company NHK, which purchased television rights, the unique concert was broadcast to hundreds of millions of viewers all around the world. The unique form of the concert connected the highest quality of interpretation art (Virtuosi di Praga and Prague Chamber Soloists under the baton of British conductor Andrew Mogrelia), smartly selected program: G. F. Händel: Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks) and the unique setting increased the popularity of the festival immensely. At the closing concert, the Czech Philharmonic with its then chief conductor Gerd Albrecht made an appearance for the first time, which definitely confirmed that the International Music Festival of Český Krumlov became an event that ranks among the most visited Czech festivals.

It was in 1992 when two important events took place in Český Krumlov. The city is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and the first year of the Český Krumlov International Music Festival took a place here. But no beginnings are easy. And so witnesses can remember him as a more modest music show that lasted six days. Thanks to living broadcasting of television and radio, the viewers of the then Czechoslovak Television and listeners of Czechoslovak Radio could also enjoy the concerts. It is interesting that the festival has had the same President since then, namely Jaromír Boháč, who founded the festival together with his enthusiastic colleagues.