Leopold Koželuh’s rediscovered Christmas cantata will be performed in Pardubice on Saturday
After more than 200 years, conductor Marek Štilec and the Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic will perform the work, which was long considered lost, on Saturday 3 December. 2022.
Leopold Kozeluh (sometimes also written Fur coat) was one of the Czech classics that established itself at the imperial court in Vienna. He was born in 1747 in Velvary and then belonged to his pupils in Prague FX Duska. In the classical period, he was a composer of pan-European renown. In 1791, he became famous with a festive cantata composed on the occasion of the coronation Leopold II Czech king. After death Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart after him, he took over the position of imperial court bandmaster in Vienna, which was then taken by another Czech after his death in 1818 – František Kramar.
From Koželuh’s works, about four hundred compositions have survived to this day, created by musicologists Milan Postolka. However, some of his works were found lost. This category also includes Christmas catatafinally discovered in parts as far as Florence, where it was found by a Swedish researcher Daniel Bernhardsson. And this work will be performed by a Czech conductor on Saturday Marek Štilecwho already recorded a number of Koželuh’s works in 2017-2019 for the company Naxos.
Christmas cantata now it will be heard in a renewed premiere – after more than two centuries – this one Saturday 3.12. in the Suk hall of the House of Music in Pardubice. Marek Štilec will drive Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic. The solo parts are performed by a soprano Michaela Šrůmovátenor player Petr Nekoranec baritone Jakub Hlinensky. A boys’ choir from neighboring Hradec Králové will also come to sing Boni pueriwho has recently been enjoying great success in Vienna: he has acquired a residence there in a baroque church Karlskirche.
Photo: Leopold Koželuh (Profimedia)