Heroes in Pictures

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Concert with video projection

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”. 85 years ago these words echoed throughout Britain, where they were written into history. They were uttered by prime minister Winston Churchill, in an attempt to rouse the British public during the looming invasion of Germany. The German army had already destroyed much of Europe at the time.

All it took was a few signatures and the fate of Czechoslovakia had been decided. In 1938 fascist leader Adolf Hitler signed an agreement with the leaders of Great Britain, France and Italy that Germany would be peacefully granted the Sudetenland. Due to this political agreement, made without the knowledge of Czechoslovak leadership, Czechoslovak soldiers, who had been trained and ready to defend their lands, were forced to surrender their arms. However, the conflict did not end with the Sudetenland and the first German divisions crossed the Czechoslovak border on the 1st of October 1938. Half a year later Hitler controlled the entire country and used his newfound strength to attack Poland on the 1st of September 1939. This act marked the beginning of the second world war. The conflict saw the loss of more than 62 million lives and to this day remains the largest and most devastating war in the history of mankind. 

The war remains a prominent theme for writers and filmmakers, leading to the creation of a number of incredible films. Screenwriters, directors and composers use their work to pay homage to the heroes of this war and ensure that their deeds will never be forgotten.

At tonight’s concert we would like to commemorate the horrors of the second world war. This includes a sequence of crushing events, as well as heroes and other figures who fought one of the hardest battles in history. The names of these events are The Munich Betrayal, the Warsaw Ghetto, where over 450,000 Jews suffered, the Battle of Britain which saw the participation of Czechoslovak pilots, the two-year siege of the Soviet city of Leningrad by Army Group North of Nazi Germany, the Battle of the Bulge, the encirclement of the North African port of Tobruk by German and Italian troops, and the landing of Allied troops in Normandy... we will try to commemorate these and other depressing events with sensitivity and humility, using music, words and projections.

Music from the movies A Prominent Patient, Leningrad Symphony, Ace of Aces, Darkest Hour, Pearl Harborand The Dam Busters be performed at the commencement of the 2025 Prague Proms International Music Festival. These pieces will be performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, directed by conductor Steven Mercurio. The concert will serve to remind us of the tragedies of this war, in an effort to celebrate life, because it is thanks to these heroes that we are all still here.

Programme

A Prominent Patient (Masaryk, 2016)
Kryštof Marek 

Leningrad Symphony (Leningradskaja simfonija, 1958)
Dmitri Shostakovich

Ace of Aces (L'As des as, 1982)
Vladimir Cosma

Darkest Hour (2017)
Dario Marianelli 

Pearl Harbor (2001)
Hans Zimmer

Saving Private Ryan (1998)
John Williams

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Malcolm Arnold

The Dam Busters (1955)
Leighton Lucas 

Schindler's List (1993)
John Williams

The English Patient (1996)
Gabriel Yared

 and others

Performers

Czech National Symphony Orchestra

Steven Mercurio conductor