The other concerts and performances of Agon Orchestra in the Archa Theatre
Agon Orchestra
Grand Rock Brillant(e)
Sunday, December 10th, 2000
Concert of compositions of young Czech composers (with a little surprise!) - the premiere of the work of an eccentric "outsider", Josef Berg.
Miroslav Srnka - String Quartet (Premiere)
Ondrej Adámek - Touches (Premiere)
Marko Ivanoviæ - A Child¨s Play for Seven Instruments (Premiere)
Michal Nejtek - Grand rock Brillant(e) (premiere)
Josef Berg - Sextet for the Harp, Piano and String Quartet
Josef Berg - Nonet for Two Harps, Harpsichord, Piano and Drums
Josef Berg - Clamor Symphonicus (Premiere)
Agon Orchestra is conducted by Petr Kofroò
The life and works of Josef Berg took in airs during the 50´s and 60´s, standing apart from the Czech cultural context and the rest of the world. During the time when Czech avant-garde began joining the world stream of New Music, Josef Berg rather thought of a "New Humour" and produced compositions that were overhelming with emotion (unlike the emotionless avant-garde), as well as containing a sense of the bizzarre (in comparison to the universality of the world avant-garde). His compositions can be only classified as "aesthetically bizarre", connecting incongruous instruments (most often drums and string intruments), and expressing visions of world catastrophes through the use of the subtle harp and harpsichord. The poetic gesture of his compositions appeared to be merely "strange". Now, almost half a century later, we can see an excess of music even in "non-musical" media (such as programmes, spoken word, etc.); we can see actual rhythmical thoughts (from minimalistic to house); we can see an actual creation of the artificial (perhaps it is better to say "strange") world of music, in which the plucking of the harpstrings symbolises the last few days of mankind. But yet, it is as if it were filled with a sickly, exaggerated sensibility, functioning like a world of true persuasiveness.
The compositions of young Czech musicians confirm a liveliness of Berg's thoughts. Ivanoviæ's poetic is "strangly neo-Classic" just like Berg's; the concert of "Czech Nonet" is "strangely dreamy" as though intoxicated; Srnek's "String Quartet" corresponds to Berg's "String Quartet" from 1968; Adamek's composition is de facto a rhythmical interpretation of one tone. Only Nejtek stands apart again!