Nationality? Works of Art? Music? Reflections on The Year of Czech Music

Speakers include Michael Beckerman (NYU), author Kurt Gottschalk, and composers Petr Kotík (Artistic Director of Ostrava Days and S.E.M. Ensemble), Alex Mincek (Director, Institute for New Music, Northwestern University), Miya Masaoka (Director, Sound Art Program, Columbia University), and former Ostrava Days residents Ian Davis, Jordan Dykstra, and James Falzone.

The evening will also feature excerpts from documentaries about the biennial Ostrava Days Festival (2007 and 2023). Founded by Kotík, Ostrava Days offers a platform for contemporary music, with a focus on orchestral works and international collaboration, presenting 20th- and 21st-century music in an uncompromising, authentic way.

This event precedes the concert at the Paula Cooper Gallery on December 18, celebrating the Year of Czech Music. The program will feature works by John Cage, Rudolf Komorous, Anna Heflin, Luboš Mrkvička, Morton Feldman, and Petr Kotík.

The Ostrava Days Institute and Festival, founded by Petr Kotík in 2001, is one of the world’s largest new music events. The festival presents 18 concerts, including symphonies, operas, ensembles, and solo performances, showcasing recent compositions as well as works from the recent past. The Institute hosts 35 resident composers who collaborate with prominent artists.

Host or Publisher Czech Center New York