Week of Czech Dreams in Mechelen

The Week of Czech Dreams, which will take place from 19 to 27 April 2024 in Mechelen, Flanders, as part of the important Lunalia music festival, is a model example of the format and content of the extensive presentations of Czech culture planned as part of Czech Dreams 2024.  

The Flemish Lunalia and the Czech Concentus Moraviae, from whose ideas the Czech Dreams project was born 20 years ago, are partner festivals whose intensive cooperation is guaranteed by the personality of dramaturge and musicologist Jelle Dierickx, the artistic director of Lunalia. This year the festival will focus on the music of the imaginary heart of Europe, with an emphasis on Czech music and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana. Subtitled "The Hearts of Europe", it will also be an important contribution to the programme of the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council.

The Week of Czech Dreams in Mechelen will take place in local concert halls and on the streets of the city. A rich musical programme accompanied by a number of non-musical presentations will be presented to the Flemish audience by top Czech artists. Flemish audiences will enjoy the works of Smetana, Suk and Janáček performed by the renowned Pavel Haas Quartet, while the outstanding Zemlinsky Quartet, together with star soprano Simona Šaturová, will premiere a brand new programme of music by Dvořák, Smetana, Janáček and Martinů, specially created for Czech Dreams 2024. The concert of the legendary Iva Bittová with the Duo Jedlinský – Fischer is eagerly awaited, while the heavenly voices of the ladies of the Tiburtina Ensemble will be heard in a project adorned with images by the prominent Flemish photographer and documentary filmmaker Lieve Blancquaert. A trio of exceptional young pianists – Nora Lubbadová, Klára Gibišová and Alexandr Klement – will offer the audience a taste of Smetana's rich piano works. The programme will also include a discussion about the Czech music, led by Jelle Dierickx and the dramaturge of Czech Dreams and creative director of the Smetana200 project Aleš Březina, a performance by Antonín Stehlík's Dulcimer Ensemble, as well as a tasting of Czech gastronomy and the Moravian wines with the personal participation of renowned winemaker Stanislav Mádl.

The concerts of the Week of Czech Dreams in Mechelen are held under the auspices of the Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic Martin Baxa and H. E. Jakub Skalník, Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Belgium, who will be present in Mechelen in person.