Architóny 2026 - the second edition will connect music with the architecture of Kotěra and Gočár
The International Festival of Music and Architecture of Jaroslav Svěcený will take place from September 11 to 14, 2026. Four festival days will offer concerts and guided meetings with rare musical instruments – all in spaces that tell the story of Hradec Králové’s architecture, including contemporary design.
Following the successful first edition last year, the International Festival of Music and Architecture of Jaroslav Svěcený ARCHITÓNY returns to Hradec Králové. It will connect top musical experiences with the extraordinary architecture of the city. The festival presents the capital of the Královéhradecký region through creatively conceived live music, architecture, and visual arts, while simultaneously enhancing its cultural significance within a national and European context.
“Through musical experiences set in significant artistic spaces, we want to bring the beauty of Hradec Králové closer to the general public in the Czech Republic and abroad. ARCHITÓNY connects classical and multi-genre music with the inspiring architecture of the Salon of the Republic left to the city by the greats Jan Kotěra and Josef Gočár. The locations of the festival also include high-quality contemporary architecture led by the modern building of ČSOB regional headquarters, Collinova, Hradec Králové. Music combined with these spaces opens a new dimension of cultural experience,” says artistic director and Hradec-born Jaroslav Svěcený, one of the most prominent Czech violinists and a court expert in string instruments.
The programming of ARCHITÓNY is closely tied to the individual venues. The festival will take visitors to the modern building of the ČSOB regional headquarters on Collinova Street, the Museum of East Bohemia designed by Jan Kotěra, and the Church of Priest Ambrož, associated with architect Josef Gočár. Both historical and contemporary architecture thus becomes not just a backdrop, but a natural part of the cultural experience.
The program of the extended September weekend will be exceptionally rich and diverse. “We will start ARCHITÓNY with top baritone Jiří Rajniš (among others, a soloist at La Scala in Milan), pianist Jaromír Klepáč (who has long collaborated with the Salzburg Academy and young talents from the International Conservatory in Prague). At the Museum of East Bohemia, we will perform well-known and almost unknown works of Antonio Vivaldi with the orchestra Virtuosi Pragenses and flutist Žofie Kotalíková; at the Church of Priest Ambrož, guitarist and composer Lukáš Sommer will appear with me for the first time, and the finale will belong to Hradec Film Night with Viktorie Martincová, Bořek Joura, the Herold Quartet, David Fendrych, and Zdeňka Žádníková, who is also the screenwriter of the entire project. The concerts will also feature the stunning paintings of academic painter Jaroslav Valečka, which will gradually be integrated into the musical content of the concert. Each program has a different dramaturgy and atmosphere, but they all share the most important element – music created for the specific exceptional space of Hradec Králové,” adds Jaroslav Svěcený.
“ARCHITÓNY is not just a festival for me. It is proof that Hradec Králové can also be a place where people come from all over the Czech Republic to experience exceptional culture. We want to push the festival further each year, bring new experiences, and showcase the beauty of the city through music, architecture, and the people behind it. I believe that the second edition will offer visitors not only extraordinary cultural experiences but also another reason to come to Hradec Králové and discover it,” says festival executive director Sabina Kvak.
Friday, September 11: Opening Gala Concert
The festival will kick off at 7:00 PM in the ČSOB building on Collinova Street with a festive opening gala concert "The Meeting of Song, Violin, and Piano." On one stage, baritone Jiří Rajniš, soloist of La Scala in Milan, violinist and evening host Jaroslav Svěcený, pianist Jaromír Klepáč, and young talents from the International Conservatory in Prague will meet. The program will connect operatic arias, songs, and chamber music.
Saturday, September 12: Rare Instruments and Vivaldi at Kotěra
Saturday morning will offer two guided tours of the exhibition "Famous Czech Violins in Europe" at the ČSOB regional headquarters on Collinova Street at 9:30 AM and 11:00 AM. Jaroslav Svěcený, court expert and curator of the exhibition, will present rare violins and the stories of instruments from significant European violin-making centers – from Cremona, Venice, Mantua, Florence, and Verona to Paris, Vienna, and Prague, as well as Hradec Králové.
At 7:00 PM, the festival will move to the Museum of East Bohemia. The gala concert "Vivaldi at Kotěra" will combine Jan Kotěra's architecture with the music of Antonio Vivaldi. Jaroslav Svěcený and the chamber orchestra Virtuosi Pragenses will perform both well-known and less frequently played Vivaldi works. The evening's guest will be flutist Žofie Kotalíková, a laureate of the Haydn competition.
Sunday, September 13: Music of Three Centuries at the Church of Priest Ambrož
On Sunday at 6:00 PM, the concert "Music of Three Centuries for All Generations" will be held at the Church of Priest Ambrož. A chamber gathering of violin and guitar by Jaroslav Svěcený and Lukáš Sommer will take listeners from the Baroque period through Romanticism to contemporary works. Guitarist and composer Lukáš Sommer, whose music has also been played at Carnegie Hall in New York, will make his first appearance at the ARCHITÓNY festival.
Monday, September 14: Hradec Film Night
The second edition of the festival will conclude at 7:00 PM in the ČSOB regional headquarters on Collinova Street with Hradec Film Night – an original music and acting project that connects dialogues from Czech and world cinema with film and fairy-tale melodies. Well-known music will intertwine with acted scenes and singing in a program full of emotions, nostalgia, and humor.
On stage, singer Viktorie Martincová, actor and puppeteer Bořek Joura, the Herold Quartet, and double bassist David Fendrych will perform. The script and acting roles are prepared by Zdeňka Žádníková together with other guests.
Hradec Film Night will symbolically close the four days during which ARCHITÓNY showcases different forms of music – from operatic singing and classics to Baroque, Romanticism, modern music, and chamber works, as well as film melodies – always in dialogue with the exceptional places where it resonates.
Following the successful first edition last year, the International Festival of Music and Architecture of Jaroslav Svěcený ARCHITÓNY returns to Hradec Králové. It will connect top musical experiences with the extraordinary architecture of the city. The festival presents the capital of the Královéhradecký region through creatively conceived live music, architecture, and visual arts, while simultaneously enhancing its cultural significance within a national and European context.
“Through musical experiences set in significant artistic spaces, we want to bring the beauty of Hradec Králové closer to the general public in the Czech Republic and abroad. ARCHITÓNY connects classical and multi-genre music with the inspiring architecture of the Salon of the Republic left to the city by the greats Jan Kotěra and Josef Gočár. The locations of the festival also include high-quality contemporary architecture led by the modern building of ČSOB regional headquarters, Collinova, Hradec Králové. Music combined with these spaces opens a new dimension of cultural experience,” says artistic director and Hradec-born Jaroslav Svěcený, one of the most prominent Czech violinists and a court expert in string instruments.
The programming of ARCHITÓNY is closely tied to the individual venues. The festival will take visitors to the modern building of the ČSOB regional headquarters on Collinova Street, the Museum of East Bohemia designed by Jan Kotěra, and the Church of Priest Ambrož, associated with architect Josef Gočár. Both historical and contemporary architecture thus becomes not just a backdrop, but a natural part of the cultural experience.
The program of the extended September weekend will be exceptionally rich and diverse. “We will start ARCHITÓNY with top baritone Jiří Rajniš (among others, a soloist at La Scala in Milan), pianist Jaromír Klepáč (who has long collaborated with the Salzburg Academy and young talents from the International Conservatory in Prague). At the Museum of East Bohemia, we will perform well-known and almost unknown works of Antonio Vivaldi with the orchestra Virtuosi Pragenses and flutist Žofie Kotalíková; at the Church of Priest Ambrož, guitarist and composer Lukáš Sommer will appear with me for the first time, and the finale will belong to Hradec Film Night with Viktorie Martincová, Bořek Joura, the Herold Quartet, David Fendrych, and Zdeňka Žádníková, who is also the screenwriter of the entire project. The concerts will also feature the stunning paintings of academic painter Jaroslav Valečka, which will gradually be integrated into the musical content of the concert. Each program has a different dramaturgy and atmosphere, but they all share the most important element – music created for the specific exceptional space of Hradec Králové,” adds Jaroslav Svěcený.
“ARCHITÓNY is not just a festival for me. It is proof that Hradec Králové can also be a place where people come from all over the Czech Republic to experience exceptional culture. We want to push the festival further each year, bring new experiences, and showcase the beauty of the city through music, architecture, and the people behind it. I believe that the second edition will offer visitors not only extraordinary cultural experiences but also another reason to come to Hradec Králové and discover it,” says festival executive director Sabina Kvak.
Friday, September 11: Opening Gala Concert
The festival will kick off at 7:00 PM in the ČSOB building on Collinova Street with a festive opening gala concert "The Meeting of Song, Violin, and Piano." On one stage, baritone Jiří Rajniš, soloist of La Scala in Milan, violinist and evening host Jaroslav Svěcený, pianist Jaromír Klepáč, and young talents from the International Conservatory in Prague will meet. The program will connect operatic arias, songs, and chamber music.
Saturday, September 12: Rare Instruments and Vivaldi at Kotěra
Saturday morning will offer two guided tours of the exhibition "Famous Czech Violins in Europe" at the ČSOB regional headquarters on Collinova Street at 9:30 AM and 11:00 AM. Jaroslav Svěcený, court expert and curator of the exhibition, will present rare violins and the stories of instruments from significant European violin-making centers – from Cremona, Venice, Mantua, Florence, and Verona to Paris, Vienna, and Prague, as well as Hradec Králové.
At 7:00 PM, the festival will move to the Museum of East Bohemia. The gala concert "Vivaldi at Kotěra" will combine Jan Kotěra's architecture with the music of Antonio Vivaldi. Jaroslav Svěcený and the chamber orchestra Virtuosi Pragenses will perform both well-known and less frequently played Vivaldi works. The evening's guest will be flutist Žofie Kotalíková, a laureate of the Haydn competition.
Sunday, September 13: Music of Three Centuries at the Church of Priest Ambrož
On Sunday at 6:00 PM, the concert "Music of Three Centuries for All Generations" will be held at the Church of Priest Ambrož. A chamber gathering of violin and guitar by Jaroslav Svěcený and Lukáš Sommer will take listeners from the Baroque period through Romanticism to contemporary works. Guitarist and composer Lukáš Sommer, whose music has also been played at Carnegie Hall in New York, will make his first appearance at the ARCHITÓNY festival.
Monday, September 14: Hradec Film Night
The second edition of the festival will conclude at 7:00 PM in the ČSOB regional headquarters on Collinova Street with Hradec Film Night – an original music and acting project that connects dialogues from Czech and world cinema with film and fairy-tale melodies. Well-known music will intertwine with acted scenes and singing in a program full of emotions, nostalgia, and humor.
On stage, singer Viktorie Martincová, actor and puppeteer Bořek Joura, the Herold Quartet, and double bassist David Fendrych will perform. The script and acting roles are prepared by Zdeňka Žádníková together with other guests.
Hradec Film Night will symbolically close the four days during which ARCHITÓNY showcases different forms of music – from operatic singing and classics to Baroque, Romanticism, modern music, and chamber works, as well as film melodies – always in dialogue with the exceptional places where it resonates.
The English translation is powered by AI tool. Switch to Czech to view the original text source.
0 comments
add comment
