The opening concert, taking place on September 15, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. in the Baroque Refectory of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, will bring together a string quartet with the colorful timbre of wind instruments and the depth of the double bass. The renowned Zemlinsky Quartet, joined by oboist Jan Souček, clarinetist Jindřich Pavliš, and double bassist Adam Honzírek, will present works by Darius Milhaud, Bohuslav Martinů, and Sergei Prokofiev. Symbolically, the program will conclude with Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 15 in G major, Op. 161, composed exactly 200 years ago.
A traditional highlight of the concerts is the dramaturgical introduction by Martina Sermain. Audiences greatly appreciate her insightful presentations, which go beyond the program notes to reveal historical contexts and personal anecdotes from the lives of the composers, details that usually remain hidden in standard concert programs.
“The evening’s dramaturgy builds on the rich legacy of chamber music while also including works written for less common instrumental combinations. What unites the three composers presented in the first half of the concert is not only Paris, but also the United States. Bohuslav Martinů’s Nocturne was written in the same year as Darius Milhaud’s Jacob’s Dreams (1949). In the work of the Les Six composer, the oboe becomes the voice of God,” explains Martina Sermain, dramaturge of the chamber series.
The 2025–2026 season will once again feature ten themed evenings with outstanding Czech ensembles, soloists, and members of the orchestra.
