Prague events

International Jazz Festival is one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. It takes place in dates 22nd – 30th November 2007. All last festivals emphasized traditional jazz, but this year the attention is paid to younger public and there will be performed variety of jazz in thematic evenings devoted to other relative styles as jazz rock, acid-jazz, world music, blues, ska, funky, soul etc.

A performance with a project Red Earth of an American singer Dee Dee Bridgewater who has two Grammy Awards will be one of the biggest event. You can also see A Malian Journey in Prague Congress Center on 24.11., a famous Funky saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis with his incredible show on 25.11. in Lucerna Music Bar, a phenomenal cosmopolitan band N.O.H.A. playing mix of drum’n’bass, electronic jazz, pop and dancing rhythms on 26.11. in Rock Café. Ska-Jazz party with New Zealand band Rotterdam Ska-Jazz Foundation you can see on 27.11. in Rock Café as well. A concert of one of the most famous European music legends and “European Jimi Hendrix” Apostolis Anthimos Trio you can see on 28.11. in Reduta Jazz Club and a concert of the best German world music band Äl Jawala with a new album “Lost in Manele” you can see on 23.11. in Reduta Jazz Club.

When you are interested in these concerts look at these websites: www.jazzfestivalpraha.cz and you will find the programme of the single concerts and also where they will take place.

The whole Europe in the first half of 17th century was afraid of the Czech General Albrecht von Waldstein (1583 – 1634). Petr Masek from the National Museum Library in Prague identified a book by unknown writer with comprehensive horoscopes of this warrior and also admirer of future predictions.

“When I studied a tittle and saw that there is a horoscope and that a nickname of a person was “prince of war” it occured me that it was about Albrecht von Waldstein. We compared a date of birth and it agreed not only with a day but with an hour as well, “said Masek at the book’s gala performance on Friday.

The discovery of European significance starts a broad exposition of Albrecht von Wallenstein and his period, which begins on 15th November and continues to 7th February in Waldstein Riding School in Prague. The volume of the book is 250 pages and will be a part of the exposition.

In 17th century, astrology was a reliable subject, horoscopes were strategic materials. They were ordered anonymously through an angent and an astrologer didn’t known by whom. Horoscopes were often stolen and traded. Albrecht’s horoscopes were ordered by his enemies. The author is unknown, but by all apearances it wasn’t the court astrologer Kepler, because his horoscopes contained mostly basic data without more detailed explanation.

“I have never seen so extensive horoscope. The author used a range of traditional and modern techniques. He had to be erudite” says the expert Pavel Turnovsky. Historians tried to confront important data of Albrecht’s life with reality: ”...the prediction mostly agree” added Musalek.

“The most important Albrecht’s planet was Uranus, and Uranus is the key to his personality; in my opinion Albrecht von Waldstein longed for independence, ” added Turnovsky. The cased book was discovered in Kopidlno Castle’s Library and originated approximately in a half of 1627. The horoscope written in German with numerous Latin terms contained everyday detailed rosters of planets positions with commentary and explanation for a term of 11 years – from 1.3 1628 to 22.9. 1638 – continuing after Albrecht’s death.

If you would like to see this unique exposition the Riding School is located in Mala Strana, Valdstejnska 3. It is a part of the seat of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. Open is everyday (except for Monday) from 10:00 to 18:00.

The best energy is the not consumed energy – this is the motto of this year’s international trade fair Aqua-therm. The 14th year takes place in Prague-Holesovice on November 20 – 24.

This international trade fair is the biggest presentation of firms from the field of Heating Technology, Air-conditioning, Sanitary, Environment Protection Technology, Measurement and Regulation and it is also a place where you can find all trends concernig energy saving.

This year 461 firms from 17 countries will present their products to visitors – experts and general public.
The trade fair attract yearly visitors who can compare products of every firm on the Czech market and let themselves expertly advise with choice of most efficient boiler, air-conditioning, heat pumps, radiators etc.

Exhibiting firms satisfy all interested persons in alternative ways of energy production – almost every prominent producer has a part of his production dedicated to ecological programme.

How to get to the trade fair? Aqua-therm takes place in Fairgrounds Prague, Vystaviste Praha 7. By metro line C to the station Nadrazi Holesovice where the special bus will transport you to Fairgrounds. If you go by trams the numbers are: 5, 12, 14, 17, station Vystaviste.

The Strings of Autumn Festival are drawing to a close. The last concert is planned on 18th November. The Festival has been part of Prague’s cultural calendar for 11 years. Until 2004, The Strings of Autumn took place in Prague Castle but now it has been organized by the National Theatre, the National Museum and the Czech Filharmony. So the Festival can use the Prague’s most prestigious concert halls.

The Strings of Autumn Festival is not only focused on classical music, but also on jazz, world music and various crossover projects which have their own unique style and genre.

If you are interested in jazz music, come to Prague’s Rudolfinum on 18th November and hear the American jazz violinist, Regina Carter.

Regina Carter comes from Detroit. When she was two, she took up the piano and at the age of four played a Bach minuet on violin according to the Suzuki method together with a children´s choir. So she avoided to note-learning and drill-like etude exercises and developed the essential hearing dispositions. She studied classical music at the New England Conservatory, but she did not get to know how to play jazz. The opportunity came in students band at the Oakland University, where she could at last absorb the principal tenets of jazz performance. When she came in New York, in 1991, quickly joined the company of elite jazz players.

Her part in the making of Wynton Marsalis´ triple album, Blood On The Fields, definitely move her into the spotlight. After the great reviews she released her own CD debut, Regina Carter, and ensuing projects: Something For Grace; Rhythms Of The Heart; Motor City Moments; Freefall; and Paganini: After A Dream (a CD on which she used Paganini´s Il Cannone violin). After the death of her mother Regina Carter pondered ending her career but the bassist John Clayton who produced her album I´ll Be Seeing You in 2006, returned her to the music.

Regina Carter Quintet – I´ll Be Seeing You is Closing Festival Concert. Quintet is composed of: Regina Carter – violin, Xavier Davis – piano, Darryl Harper – clarinet, Matthew Parrish – bass, Alvester Garnett – drums.

Regina Carter Quintet comes on 18th November to Prague’s Rudolfinum. The concert begins at 19.30. Tickets are available in ticketpro chain outlets and cost from 330 to 990 CZK (11 – 33 €).

Do you already know what you will be doing during the Christmas time? Read on. I have one suggestion for you. Christmas is connected to snow and ice so if you want to enjoy true Christmas atmosphere, go and see the fantastic show called Christmas on Ice.

Katarina Witt is a German figure skater, born on 3th December, 1965. She has two Olympic gold medals from Sarajevo Olympics (1984) and from Calgary Olympics (1988). She has also four gold medals from World Championships in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988. And she won six times consecutive European Championships (1983-1988). She is one of the most successful figure skaters of all time. She also became an actress in the film Carmen on Ice (1986) and recieved an Emmy Award for her role in this film.

Katarina Witt has choosen her guests for this show. One of them is Jozef Sabovcik. He won European Championship once and has a bronze medal from Sarajevo Olympic Games. He is great at rock&roll and at very high jumps (for his incredibly high jumps is nicknamed Jumping Joe). He is famous for his historicaly first quadruple jump. He has lived in USA for 20 years now, but he is originaly from Czechoslovakia.

The next guest is Alexei Urmanov. A winner of Olympic Games, European Championship and he has won a bronze medal in World Championship.

Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas are the next invited figure skaters. The pair captured the bronze medal at the 2000 World Figure Skating Championship and they have also won two bronze at 2000 and 2006 European Figure Skating Championship.

Kat Winkler and Rene Lohse have won bronze at World Championship and are quintuple Germany Champions.

During the programme Christmas on Ice, double winner of World Championship will perform with her guest, who belongs to the top of figure skating. They will present their solo programmes, enriched by special figures. Fantastic performances complemented by music and light show can create two hours of fun for the whole family.

If you want to see this spectacle come to T-Mobile Arena on 18th December. Tickets are available in Ticketpro chain outlets and they cost from 295 CZK to 1195 CZK (9,8 – 39,8 €).

The unique interactive travelling exhibition has come to Prague. It is called “Fascination of Light – Light for Schools”. The exhibition was developed in Germany three years ago. It joins initiative between organisations and associations from research, industry and media and is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). This exhibition is a part of the European campaign and will travel through several European cities with the support of the European Commission and organised by institutions collaborating within the consortium LASERLAB EUROPE with additional support from the NEMO Network of Excellence on Micro-Optics.

Visitors, by means of functional models, illustrative material and multimedia stations, can learn how light is being used in optical technologies accompanying us in our every-day life and learn remarkable characteristics of light.

A special part of the exhibition is about laser technologies. You can learn basic principles of a laser. You can also try some experiments through interactive models.

At the exhibition you can learn more about these themes: Light is with us throughout our everyday lives, Where does the light come from?, Color of light, Light – on the way to modern times, Light – a trusted yet mysterious friend, The origin of light, The laser, Light games and more and more.

Fascination of Light will be displayed in Prague from 31 October – 8 November on the Week with Science and Technology at Veletrzni palac, Dukelskych hrdinu 47, Praha 7.

Apocalyptica is a Finnish Cello metal quartet composed of three cellist, Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, Perttu Kivilaakso and one drummer, Mikko Sirén (since 2005). The band was formed in the early ‘90s. All three cellists studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. They were specialists in playing Bach and other famous classical composers, but they also were big fans of heavy metal. And so they decided to form their own band. Toppinen wrote some unique arrangements of songs by Metallica, Slayer and other metallic legends ant the band started to perform at student balls. They were successful and more and more in demand, so they dared to play a gig at a heavy metal club.

So they played for the first time at an after-Christmas party for metalheads at Teatro Heavy Metal Club in Helsinki in 1995. They were covering Metallica and thought that metalheads wouldn’t like it. They were scary to go and play in front of them and didn’t know what was going to happen. But fortunately metalheads were thrilled and had a great time. It didn’t take a long time and Kari Hynninen of Zen Garden Records who was bowled over by their interpretations of metal anthems instantly offered them a contract and a chance to release their debut album “Plays Metallica by Four Cellos” and over one million copies worldwide were sold. In 1998 they released the second album called “Inquisition Symphony” a second album with cover versions that included songs by Faith No More, Pantera and Sepultura. However the band’s first original material (three songs) appeared in this album. Then they decided to produce their own songs. They already knew that they could do with cover versions and it wasn’t interesting for them anymore. They wanted to create new music for instruments. In 2005 Apocalyptica enlisted their own full-time drummer, Mikko Sirén.

In September 2007 Apocalyptica released new album, “Worlds Collide”. Produced by long-time Rammstein muse Jacob Hellner including collaborations with Stone Sour/Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor (on first single “I’m Not Jesus”), Lacuna Coil’s sublime Cristina Scabbia, 3 Days Grace vocalist Adam Gontier and again their long time friend Dave Lombardo who has been collaborating with them since ‘97.

If you can see and hear this amazing band you will have to hurry, because the concert is held on 5th November in Kongresove Centrum in Prague. Tickets are available in Ticketpro chain outlets and cost 770 CZK (25,6 €).

Dolores O’Riordan is back. The singer of the legendary band Cranberries is starting her European tour while her band is being at rest and is going to perform in Prague with her accompanying band on Monday 26 November 2007 in Prague Lucerna.

The Cranberries is one of the most world famous band and all their hits will be performed on the Dolores O’Riordan tour in Prague. O’Riordan’s first solo album “Are You Listening?” was released on May 4, 2007 in the Republic of Ireland. The hit “Ordinary Day” was recorded in Prague and you can hear it at all music TV channels.

Dolores Eileen O’Riordan was born September 6th, 1971 as the youngest of seven children in Ballybricken, Limerick, Ireland. Her family was strict Catholic and she has a lot of respect for the good in the Catholic Church, but she doesn’t go to church. In 1990 she joined “The Cranberry saw Us” and later its name was changed to Cranberries at her request. On July 18th, 1994 O’Riordan married Don Burton, the former tour manager of Duran Duran. Now she lives in Howth, County Dublin with her husband and their four children (one is from a previous relationship of Burton’s).

If you come to her concert in Lucerna you will hear the Cranberries’ best hits including Linger, Animal Instinct, Zombie, Salvation, When You Are Gone and also hits from her new album “Are you Listening? “.

Tickets are available at the Ticketpro chain outlets and they cost 800 CZK (26,6 €). You can also buy the tickets right before the concert for the price of 950 CZK (31,6 €).

Current number two of American rap is comming to the Czech Republic within the scope of his European tour (he didn’t cancel his tour, just moved it for two months). Tickets for his performance which is going to take place on 21st November in Prague T-mobile arena are on sale.

Rapper 50 Cent whose real name is Curtis James Jackson comes to Prague for the first time. He promotes his new album Curtis which competed at the beginning of September with Kanye West‘s album, Curtis‘ American competitor.

50 Cent comes from New York – Queens but has affinity for gangsta rap from the West Coast. It’s no wonder, his mother was a dealer of cocaine and died when Curtis was still a child. However not a young rapper didn’t avoid problems with law. In a half of 90‘s he was imprisoned because of selling crack and carrying weapons to school.

Then he began to assert himself at a scene of New York rap after his cooperation with producers Trackmaster.
In 2000 he almost fell a victim of violence. He was wounded by 9 mm pistol, but it only emphasized his position of controversial figure in New York scene.

However he is not only a gangster rapper, he also has catchy melodies what confirmed the last album Curtis. Mary J. Blige and Eminem are the guests on this album.
Tickets are from 790 to 990 CZK (26,3 – 33 €) and are available at the Ticketpro and Ticketportal chain outlets.

The world-famous gospel choir, cooperating with the biggest stars of the world of music is coming back to the Czech Republic after its great successful last year.

Tickets to the concert cost between 250 and 890 CZK (8,3 and 29,6 €) and are available at the box office of the Prague State Opera and also at the Ticketpro chain outlets.

Last year, Harlem Gospel Choir’s visit to the Czech Republic was something like a “trial run”. Gospel music has never had a tradition in this country and its music scene, so no one expected the choir to have such a success at the local audience. However enthusiasm and euforia which accompanied the whole Czech stage of the choir’s tour could not escape the attention of the Czech press and other media. All tickets were sold out for every tour’s stop and the choir performed something unexpected. The tour was hosted by churches and synagogues where this type of show has not been ordinary. But Czech music fans and those who were courious were excited. Many of them followed the tour along next stops to feel the atmosphere again and again. Gospel singing as performed by this most famous New York-based choir had a great success.

In 2007 they had a great success in Russia where people keenly applauded at number of concerts in Moscow. Their great success was for example three-month long completely sold out indoor arena tour of Germany and France with Andre Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra. Harlem Gospel Choir has also a lot of fans from celebrities. For example: Bono Vox of U2, Diana Ross, Elton John and Donatella Versace.

Harlem Gospel Choir travels about the world and shares its joy of faith through its music and raises funds for children’s charities. The choir was established by Allen Bailey in 1986 and was formed from the best singers and musicians from various churches catering for the African American community in Harlem. Harlem Gospel Choir has been sharing for a long time the message of love, peace and harmony with thousands of people of different nations, environments, and cultures. It tries to make the world better with greater love and freedom. It wants to promote a better understanding of the African American culture through its dynamic performance. The topics of these songs have something in common – to connect people and nations together and revive some of these ideas.

Harlem Gospel Choir is comming to Prague on 1st November 2007 with their World Tour 2007 – God Bless The Children.