Prague Sounds is a music festival based in Prague, Czech Republic. It was founded in 1996 as Strings of Autumn by current director
Marek Vrabec and Martin Pechanec, and has since established itself as one of the country's foremost music events, noted for its eclectic programming which takes in jazz, hip-hop, electronica, contemporary classical music, and song. The festival changed its name to Prague Sounds in 2022.
The New York Times has called the festival 'one of Prague's most innovative musical undertakings.'
Over the course of its history, the festival has brought some of the most respected names in international music to Prague, presenting both iconic, established musicians and younger artists at the cutting edge of new music. The festival makes use of a range of venues across the city – from the Rudolfinum concert hall and Forum Karlin to club and alternative venues like Dox+, CAMP, and La Fabrika. It also puts on site-specific projects.
Artists to have appeared at Prague Sounds include Nils Frahm, De La Soul,
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...
,
Yo-Yo Ma,
Wayne Shorter,
Kae Tempest,
Lambchop,
Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones, July 2, 1930) is an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and educator. For six decades, he has been one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz.
Biography Early life
Jamal was born Fr ...
,
Barbara Hannigan, and
Cassandra Wilson, as well as contemporary composers Steve Reich,
Terry Riley, and
Caroline Shaw, and Julia Wolfe, and artists from the contemporary hip-hop and electronic scenes such as
Shabazz Palaces,
Young Fathers,
Nathan Fake
Nathan Fake is an English electronic music artist from Necton in Norfolk, England, who has released singles as well as three albums on the label Border Community Recordings.
In 2006, his debut album ''Drowning in a Sea of Love'' was released ...
, and
Ghostpoet
Obaro Ejimiwe (born 18 January 1983) is a British singer, songwriter and musician better known by his stage name Ghostpoet. His first album, ''Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam'', was shortlisted for the 2011 Mercury Prize. His 2015 album ''S ...
.
In 2020, in reaction to the global pandemic, the festival put on its first-ever open-air concert, a performance of Max Richter's Vivaldi Recomposed on a specially-constructed floating stage on the Vltava river in the heart of Prague. The following year, cellist Yo-Yo Ma performed on the floating stage, and in 2022 the festival used the stage for a special concert to celebrate the Czech Presidency of the EU, featuring the Czech Philharmonic.
See also
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Designblok
Designblok is a design festival held in Prague, Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the wes ...
References
External links
- English site
'A Festival for All Seasons'
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Music festivals in the Czech Republic
Festivals in Prague
Music festivals established in 1996
Autumn events in the Czech Republic
1996 establishments in the Czech Republic
Jazz festivals in the Czech Republic