The Leoš Janáček International Music Festival (LJIMF) opens its 76th edition today with a sold-out concert at the Antonín Dvořák Theatre in Ostrava. The gala evening will feature the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK conducted by Tomáš Netopil and Pablo Ferrández, one of today’s most outstanding cellists. The programme of the opening concert will mark two major anniversaries: 120 years since the birth of Dmitri Shostakovich and 100 years since the premiere of Janáček’s Sinfonietta. Until 3 July, the festival will present more than 40 concerts and accompanying events in Ostrava and across the Moravian-Silesian Region, including Frýdek-Místek, Opava, Příbor, Nový Jičín and Hukvaldy. It is in Hukvaldy that the festival will culminate in its largest open-air project: Carl Orff’s monumental cantata Carmina Burana in the Hukvaldy amphitheatre. For the first time in its modern history, the festival is being produced by the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava.

“A sold-out opening concert is a wonderful sign for us that the festival is entering its new edition with extraordinary energy and a strong sense of trust from the audience. This year’s programme brings together major symphonic evenings, outstanding soloists, chamber concerts and events that open the festival to new listeners. The opening concert with the Spanish cellist Pablo Ferrández shows the direction in which we want to move in the future,” says Jan Žemla, Director of the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava and the Leoš Janáček International Music Festival.

Major symphonic evenings and the charm of chamber music

In addition to the opening evening, the festival will present a concert by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra with baritone Jan Martiník. Ostrava will also welcome the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice (NOSPR), which will perform under the baton of conductor Marin Alsop with Opava-born pianist Lukáš Vondráček.

“Preparing this year’s edition was specific for us in that we were building on part of the programme that had been created before I took up the position of festival director. We complemented and expanded the programme sensitively so that it would have a clear line and energy. Alongside the major orchestral concerts, I would also like to highlight the festival’s chamber music strand. The Jerusalem Quartet, Daniel Ciobanu and Tamta Magradze are artists who bring exceptional quality and individuality,” adds Jan Žemla.

A festival in Ostrava and throughout the region

The LJIMF remains firmly connected with Ostrava, while at the same time reaching out across the entire Moravian-Silesian Region. In Frýdek-Místek, the Romanian Chamber Orchestra will perform with Daniel Ciobanu; in Opava, Silentium Ensemble will appear under the baton of Tomáš Netopil; jazz rhythms will take over Příbor; and in Nový Jičín, the Beskydy Theatre will resonate with an evening of sacred music.

Hukvaldy, the birthplace of Leoš Janáček, will also play a prominent role. There, the festival will combine its traditional open-air programme in the amphitheatre with a concert at Hukvaldy Castle and a new venue at Hukvaldský dvůr. The sensitively restored complex will come to life this year for the first time as a distinctive festival space, opening its programme on 7 June with the vernissage of an exhibition by sculptor Tereza Štětinová. In Ostrava itself, the festival will present a total of fifteen events across several venues.

“The Leoš Janáček International Music Festival is one of the most important cultural events in our city. It is important to us that a classical music festival with international ambition and a strong tradition originates here in Ostrava. In the context of the forthcoming VOX cultural centre, I also see it as part of the broader story of the city’s cultural future. Ostrava has the potential to become a significant European music centre, and the Leoš Janáček Festival is one of the pillars on which we can build,” says Jan Dohnal, Mayor of the City of Ostrava.

Open-air concerts, busking and a programme for children

One of the largest open-air festival events will be the concert by Police Symphony Orchestra with singer Thom Artway, which will bring an energetic fusion of symphonic sound, pop, rock and other genres to Hukvaldy on 27 June. A day later, Carl Orff’s monumental cantata Carmina Burana will be performed in the Hukvaldy amphitheatre by the Hradec Králové Philharmonic, soloists and choral ensembles under the baton of conductor Kaspar Zehnder. The festival, however, will not remain confined to traditional concert formats and will also offer a rich accompanying programme.

“The Leoš Janáček Festival is built on high artistic quality, while at the same time opening itself increasingly to the wider public. In addition to classical concerts, it also brings informal events accessible to city residents and tourists alike. These include symphonic busking with Police Symphony Orchestra at Nová Karolina, which will take place on the morning of 28 June, and an evening jam session at the Dock club on Friday, 12 June. The festival thus shows that it is a place of meeting, discovery and shared joy in music,” says Lucie Baránková Vilamová, Deputy Mayor for Strategic Development and Culture.

The festival as a space for education and young talent

The festival has long supported education and young talent. Alongside its concert programme, this year’s edition will offer public masterclasses led by prominent figures of the international music scene: baritone Jan Martiník, cellist Kyril Zlotnikov and pianist Lukáš Vondráček. The masterclasses are co-organised by the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music of the University of Ostrava and will allow students and the public to gain insight into the interpretative work of leading artists.

The International Composition Competition and Symphonic Laboratory Generation 2026, organised within the LJIMF by the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava in cooperation with the Creative Centre Ostrava and the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music of the University of Ostrava, is also heading towards its final stage. This year, a total of 51 composers from 20 countries entered the competition in two categories. The final concert in the under-30 category will take place on 16 June in the Concert Hall of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music of the University of Ostrava.

The finalists will subsequently take part in a three-day composition seminar in Hukvaldy as part of the Symphonic Laboratory, where, under the guidance of jury members, they will develop the concept of a new work for large symphony orchestra. One of the finalists will receive a commission to complete a composition that the festival will present in 2027.

“This year, we saw many remarkable talents in the Generation competition. Especially in the youngest category, it was very difficult to select only two laureates. In the orchestral category for composers under 30, we were struck by a number of distinctive works, and we sought to support those composers in whom we feel great potential for further growth and curiosity in the field of orchestral writing. The new form of Generation is focused precisely on connecting young authors with the orchestra, so that this fascinating genre remains alive, open and constantly evolving,” says jury chair Ondřej Adámek.