Christmas gala concerts in Liechtenstein palace (HAMU)

ABOUT CONCERT

Get in the mood for Christmas cheer through timeless pieces of classical music. The concerts take place in the Galerie concert hall and the Bohuslav Martinů hall in the Liechtenstein Palace at the HAMU (below the Prague Castle). Masterful string movements breathe life into famous classics by W. A. ​​Mozart, A. Vivaldi, J. S. Bach, A. Dvořák, B. Smetana and others. The musical experience will be provided by the top chamber ensemble Parnas Ensemble, which ranks among Prague's leading orchestras with its musical virtuosity.

PROGRAM

VIVALDI : The Four Seasons selection
BIZET : Suite from Carmen
DEBUSSY : Clair de lune ( „Moonlight“ )
RAVEL : Bolero
SMETANA : Vltava (Moldau)
STRAUSS : Pizzicato Polka
W. A. MOZART : A Little Night Music
SCHUBERT : Ave Maria
J. S. BACH : Air
P. I. TCHAIKOVSKY : Waltz of the Flowers from ballet The Nutcracker
DVOŘÁK : Largo from the New World Symphony
Slavonic Dance

PERFORMERS

PARNAS ENSEMBLE

The Parnas Ensemble specializes in pieces of light classical music, classical favorites, and ballroom dance music. Apart from the well-known works of classical music (Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Smetana, Dvořák, Tchaikovsky), an integral part of its repertoire is formed by miniatures as well as transcriptions of famous works composed for other instrumental arrangements or originating in other genres (Strauss, Offenbach, Gershwin, Joplin). There are probably only a few more ensembles in Prague which can offer performances of such music of comparable quality, musicality, reliability and harmony.

Its versatile and extensive repertoire enables The Parnas Ensemble to offer classical and contemporary music for varied occasions. Since its premiere engagement, the group has been invited to perform at prestigious international congresses such as the NATO Prague Summit in 2002, at various social events, for dignitaries such as Václav Havel, as well as special occasions and concerts in the greater Prague area and abroad.

The Parnas was formed in the 1990s as The Parnas Quartet, followed by its larger line-up The Parnas Ensemble in 2007, by members of the Prague Symphony Orchestra to fill a void in the Prague musical community for a high-calibre chamber group performing both light classical and ballroom dance music. Critics have stressed their brilliant art, their virtuosity and sense of a polished dramaturgy of individual performances.

Since 2007, the ensemble has recorded two CDs of the most popular classical pieces and performed many concerts, especially in Rudolfinum–the prestigious concert house in Prague, and toured Japan with great success in 2012 as well as in 2014. The Parnas Ensemble strives to satisfy not only the music critics but first and foremost its audience of listeners.