Ubout Us
NeoKlasik Orchestra (NKO) is a Prague-based musical ensemble founded in 2020 by conductor Václav Dlask. The name of the orchestra is based on the prefix “neo”, representing a modern and innovative view of classical music with respect for the traditional values of old styles and cultural and historical epochs. NKO’s dramaturgy specializes in neoclassicism and other musical styles of the 20th-21st centuries that reference period styles and forms. The concerts it organizes offer a wide range of classical music interpretations across many artistic movements (neo-baroque, neoclassicism,
neo-impressionism, neo-folklorism and others).
Our Concerts
The very first artistic venture of the NeoKlasik Orchestra was the NeoMartinů project, which in more than 15 concerts presented the complete neo-classical works of Bohuslav Martinů. Its significant part was also the opera production Report on the State of the Unliving from 2022 (G .C. Menotti: Telephone – Czech premiere, B. Martinů: Tears of a Knife, S. Barber: A Hand of Bridge – Czech premiere).
The NKO dramaturgy also focuses on contemporary neoclassical works, most of which have been staged in world premieres. There was, for example, a Mini-NeoKlasik concert focusing on works by contemporary Polish composers, as well as concerts for the jubilee anniversaries of Igor Stavinsky and Jean Françaix. NeoKlasik for Children, offering cultural and educational events for children, is also an important NKO project. In the past, there was a concert for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ilya Hurnik, with fairy tale melodramas for children (I. Hurnik: The Musicians, Tales of a Band), as well as concerts introducing a new Christmas tradition with the Children’s Christmas Mass by Jaroslav Vodrážka. As part of this project, the NKO artistic team is putting together a program of new concert works for children as solo players.
Dramaturgy and Our Approach
The aim of NKO is not only to find bridges between the authors and their works, but also to connect music with literature, dance and various areas of the visual arts. It regularly organizes vocal concerts including songs from the collection Slavs in Their Songs, written by the painter and ethnomusicologist Ludvík Kuba. In 2024, the Czech premiere of the chamber opera Café Kafka will take place,
highlighting writer Franz Kafka’s significant relationship with Prague’s Café Louvre. NeoKlasik Orchestra will also launch the 1st Mánes Festival, which will commemorate three anniversaries of the members of the Mánes Music Group as part of the Year of Czech Music. The festival will also be an opportunity for a long-term collaboration with the Mánes Artists’ Society, which will renew the artistic values of the Mánes Music Group
Members of the orchestra are also regularly invited to the opening of exhibitions, for example, we regularly cooperate with the Ludvík Kuba Gallery in Poděbrady and with the Kooperativa Gallery. They also enthusiastically participate in fundraising events for the restoration of cultural monuments and regularly give concerts in senior citizens’ homes, thus contributing to their engagement in the community.
"In memoriam" Projects
An important dramaturgical line consists of projects commemorating historical events of the 20th century, whose imprint can be found in the artistic work of some composers. In 2021, the NeoKlasik Orchestra performed at the In Memoriam Babí Jar commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the massacre of Jews in Babí Jar ravine. The commemorative concert was held in cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine and the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic and included a performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14. A year later, the international project In Memoriam Lidice took place, in which German artists participated with the support of the Czech-German Future Fund and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. Among other pieces, the composition Greek Memorial to Lidice by Marios Christou was performed here. The NeoKlasik Orchestra’s last significant artistic achievement was the realization of the international project In Memoriam Terezín-Osvětim, which took place in the Terezín Riding Hall in the presence of important constitutional officials, institutions and ambassadors, including the Ambassador of the State of Israel, Anna Azari. The program included, among others, the 3rd Symphony of “Sorrowful Songs” by H.M. Górecki. The three above-mentioned projects were complemented by an accompanying program in the form of exhibitions or guided tours.
Participation in Festivals
Since 2022, the NeoKlasik Orchestra has also participated in year-round domestic festivals and other cultural events, enriching them with its exceptional dramaturgy and the program of individual concerts. In this way, it succeeds in introducing their visitors to music that is not often performed.
Among the festivals we can mention, for example, the Haydn Music Festival (2022), Days of Contemporary Music (2022, 2023), Melodramfest (2022, 2023), Břevnov Music Meetings (2022), Holocaust Memorial Day Concert in the Senate of the Czech Republic (2023), Antonín Dvořák Music Festival (2023), Smetana Days (2023), Musica non grata (2023), Concert for the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust (2023), and the Concert for the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust (2023). The 80th anniversary of the deportation of the Kutná Hora Jews to Terezín (2023), Ludwig van Beethoven Music Festival (2024), Getting to Know Martinů (2024), etc.
Cooperation with Artists
In the NeoKlasik Orchestra we strive to connect young talented artists, namely students at music academies and high schools with renowned artists. Recent collaborations (including those abroad) include concerts with Petr Nouzovsky, Kristina Nouzovská Fialová, Matúš Pěruška, Ondřej Bernovský, Vojtěch Spurný, Tamara Morozová, Josef Kovačič, Adam Dvořáček, Justina Khil, Alexander Ebert, etc. The composers themselves actively participate in our concerts, offering the orchestra and the performers a unique experience not only on an artistic but also on a personal level. Among such collaborations we can mention those with Karel Pexidr, Marios Christo, Jiří Teml, Jiří Bezděk, Haštal Hapka, Holmer Becker, Pavel Trojan and members of the Society of Czech Composers.
