Music and Poetry at Holiday Inn

The Holiday Inn Prague Congress Centre began a four-part cycle of classical music concerts with a popular tinge – “Setkání s hudbou a poezií” (An encounter with music and poetry) – on Tuesday 22nd June 2010. Ing. Pavel Horálek, Mayor of the City District of Prague 4, took patronage over the entire event. The opening concert in a four-part cycle, “A little night music”, got underway to the sound of the gong of Oldřich Vlček, a leading personality in the Virtuosi di Praga orchestra, conductor and violin virtuoso. He explained that the start time of 6.24 p.m. (18.24) was chosen deliberately to commemorate the birth year of Bedřich Smetana – 1824.

Well-tuned maestro Vlček acquainted the audience with the works of a number of composers during the concert (Mozart, Dvořák, Vivaldi, Martinů and Boccherini). Also worthy of note was his recalling of the evident musical genius of (the albeit mythical Czech figure) Franco Cimmerman, whose melodies and style have so much in common with his successor of later years Mozart! And indeed Beethoven, Schubert et al. “Maestro Vlček has it that the composer of the musical opus could be none other than the stepfather or grandfather of Jára Cimmerman as genius in this family is simply passed from generation to generation.” The audience was left enchanted by MUDr. Alvaro Cordoba, a Uruguayan guitar virtuoso and top world neurosurgeon who originally became a guitarist to be able to later complete medicine; it is now hard to tell in which discipline he is better. Just to make sure, he does them both (which is only a good thing for his listeners). The wonderful orchestration of the evening came to a climax with the charismatic personality of Otakar Brousek, whose artistic recital is a well-known caress for the perceptive and art-loving listener.

The evening also included an invitation from General Manager of the hotel JUDr. Jan Filip to partake in a glass of wine in the Orangerie conservatory and the hotel gardens. Tuscan wine from the Markuzzi wine company went perfectly with the delicacies prepared by the experienced team of head chef Ladislav Douša in the spirit of modern culinary trends. The attractive surroundings of the Orangerie conservatory were decorated with blown-up photographs from the “Geometry of nudity” collection by renowned Czech photographer Pavel Brunclík, allowing the muses of art to enter the hotel environment.

The uncommon concept of the evening even reached out to those members of the audience not yet indulging this sort of music. The cultural experience was enhanced by a pleasant evening in the hotel garden, from where guests can enjoy a marvellous view of the oldest royal seat, the ancient Vyšehrad, and Prague Castle, a symbol of statehood and the city of Prague. The gurgling of the garden fountain effortlessly evoked the opening tones of Smetana’s “Moldau”, which was played during the evening and which left each and every guest with a new experience of the surroundings of the Holiday Inn Prague Congress Centre. An experience that demonstrated the new and broader possibilities of combining cultural and relaxation events for all our guests.

The cycle of classical music concerts in a popular light – “Setkání s hudbou a poezií” (An encounter with music and poetry) – was created with the idea of offering those not yet indulging this sort of music an artistic experience through concerts featuring popular works of classical music or providing a pleasant evening to those for whom the pieces of music in question are already an inherent part of their lives. It is a unique opportunity to offer your employees or business partners an uncommon experience through beautiful music and artistic recital, perhaps enhanced by the presentation of your company or indeed an exhibition of contemporary or historical works of art. Each concert is made even more enticing at its conclusion by a glass of fine wine and some refreshments.

Your guarantee of a top-class concert is the Virtuosi di Praga orchestra headed by Oldřich Vlček, whose aim it is to introduce the audience at these concerts to certain top solo artists of world renown. The programme can be adapted to suit the musical tastes of the client (movie theme tunes, classical music, jazz etc.): the famous melodies of a legendary group in the reworking and interpretation of jazzman Milan Svoboda and the Virtuosi quintet alongside the hits of baroque composers Vivaldi, Bach, Handel and Teleman.