Josef Špaček plays Dvořák

This concert is entirely dedicated to the Czech Republic. In 2015, Josef Špaček recorded a highly acclaimed CD of Antonín Dvořák’s Violin Concerto with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by its principal conductor Jiří Bělohlávek, alongside works by Josef Suk and Leoš Janáček. Since then, this rising star among Czech violinists has been touring the world’s major concert halls with his famous compatriot’s Violin Concerto. For Špaček, this means “a rather great responsibility to play these works – both representing my country and performing music that has already been recorded thousands of times.” Nevertheless, he believes that Dvořák’s work is somewhat underrated compared to the famous concertos by Brahms, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, and should be performed more often. The Musikkollegium Winterthur is taking this to heart and has added two further works by Antonín Dvořák to the programme. The concert overture ‘Othello’, rarely performed today, is based on the sombre material from Shakespeare’s play of the same name. The symphonic poem ‘The Water-Sprite’ is based on a Czech fairy tale, which, admittedly, has no less tragic an ending. In both works, Dvořák adheres closely to the literary sources, both in form and in the way he translates the intonation of the language into the themes and motifs.

Individual tickets for subscription concerts can be booked from 20 August 2026. Until then, please send us an email with details of the desired category and number of tickets.  Red Sofa following the concert at the Park Hotel (Comensoli Hall). Roberto González-Monjas in conversation with Josef Špaček.