May 20 Barbara Hannigan & Bertrand Chamayou | A significant part of Barbara Hannigan’s first residency concert will be devoted to her soprano voice. However, the brilliant French pianist Bertrand Chamayou will also perform two exceptionally beautiful solo piano pieces by the Russian classic Alexander Scriabin.

May 22 American pianist Eric Lu, winner of this year’s Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, will perform compositions by Chopin, Schumann, and Schubert at the Rudolfinum.

May 29 Ensemble Modern I Fans of contemporary music will enjoy the first Prague Offspring concert, which will feature the Double Concerto for Piano, Percussion, and Ensemble by Prague Offspring 2026 resident composer Unsuk Chin. Before the concert, you can meet this world-renowned composer in person at a discussion starting at 6 p.m.

June 1 Argerich & Shani & Rotterdam Philharmonic | The last tickets are available for the concert of world piano legend Martha Argerich with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and conductor Lahav Shani! Martha Argerich returns to Prague Spring after an incredible fifty-two years.é jaro po neuvěřitelných dvaapadesáti letech.

June 3 Lucas & Arthur Jussen | The first concert by today’s most sought-after piano duo with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields is already hopelessly sold out. However, you still have a chance to hear brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen on June 3 in an attractive programme for two pianos and percussion instruments, for which the last tickets are available!

Programme

• Fryderyk Chopin: Prélude in D-flat major Op. 28 No. 15
• Fryderyk Chopin: Prelude in A-flat major B. 86 Op. Posth.
• Johann Sebastian Bach: Prelude No.1 in C major (from Book 1 of Well-Tempered Clavier) BWV 846
• Sergej Rachmaninov: Prelude in D minor Op. 23 No. 3
• Karol Szymanowski: Nine Preludes Op. 1, excerpts
• Olivier Messiaen: Preludes for piano, excerpts
• Fryderyk Chopin: Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 45
• Sergej Rachmaninov: Prelude in C-sharp minor Op. 3 No. 2
• Henryk Mikołaj Górecki: Four Preludes op. 1, excerpts
• Johann Sebastian Bach: Prelude No.2 in C minor (from Book 1 of Well-Tempered Clavier) BWV 847
• Sergej Rachmaninov: Prelude in G minor Op. 23 No. 5
• Fryderyk Chopin: 24 Preludes Op. 28

More information about the concert

The festival offered four recitals in the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum and one in the Bohuslav Martinů Hall at HAMU (Prague Academy of Performing Arts, Music and Dance Faculty). This year’s performers were Sir András Schiff, Chloe Jiyeong Mun, Alexander Melnikov, Ivo Kahánek and his students Anna Gaálová, Pavol Praženica and Matouš Zukal, the final concert belonged to Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. “A good concert needs an inspiring personality on stage, quality music and an audience that listens and is genuinely interested in what is happening. The concerts of this festival have an amazing atmosphere thanks to a great audience that is absolutely immersed in the music,” Jean-Efflam Bavouzet commented for the festival. The partners of the 12th Rudolf Firkušný Piano Festival were the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Capital City of Prague, Mercedes-Benz Czech Republic and Citibank. More information about the 12th edition can be found on the festival website.

A selection of reviews

novinky.cz (Alex Švamberk)

[…] Although Schiff concentrates on interpreting the music of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and Schubert, he delivered Janáček brilliantly, capturing the dramatic urgency of the theme, although he said during the performance of Smetana that he was not as good at Czech music as Czech interpreters. Along with Beethoven’s works (in addition to the Bagatelles, Sonata No. 30 in E major was also performed), these were the highlights of the festival’s opening concert.

PolyHarmonie.cz (Ivan Žáček)

[…] I consider Schiff’s performance [of Beethoven’s Six Bagatelles, Op. 126], though less explosive, to be one of the best, alongside Maurizio Pollini, Alfred Brendel and, most recently, Nikita Mndoyants. This was followed by Bedřich Smetana’s Three Poetic Polkas Op. 8 (1854), three tender flowers full of thoughtful reflection that must have delighted all musicians’ hearts. I would especially highlight the fragility of the most beautiful of them, the middle Polka in G minor.

KlasikaPlus.cz (Martina Heroldová)

[…] Mun played impressively, especially the first part entitled Reflections in the Water. Although this is one of Debussy’s many “water” pieces, it brings in new sound timbres that the composer was exploring and experimenting with in piano sound at the beginning of the 20th century. A flood of arpeggios, tremolos and glissandos are used here to represent light reflecting off the water’s surface and its ripples, played with such ease by the pianist that it seemed as if she was just lightly brushing the water’s surface with her hands instead of touching the keyboard. The tiny staccatos then evoke water droplets, and the pianist played them in such a way as if the tones were dripping from her fingers.

OperaPlus.cz (Jiří Bezděk)

[…] Alexander Melnikov presented himself as a typical graduate of the Moscow piano school, of which the legendary Sviatoslav Richter is also a representative. Melnikov is also proud of his legacy. His dizzying and utterly reliable finger technique, even in the fastest tempi, is somewhat reminiscent of him. […] It was almost unbelievable with what ease the pianist immediately adapted to the ever-changing instrumental mechanics and with what perfection he mastered all the pieces. […] The whole realisation team must be paid tribute to, because the result was outstanding.

casopisharmonie.cz (Věroslav Němec)

[…] Melnikov’s handling of this instrument [an 1848 Ignaz Pleyel romantic piano] was truly masterful. His Chopin was beautifully flowing and singing, and sounded equally beautiful in the sonorous passages with full instrumentation as in the simple vocal lines (the wonderful one-part recitative just before the final Assai allegro).

Szafa Melomana (Mateusz Ciupka)

[…] Kahanek demonstrated what he is appreciated for in the Czech Republic: for his amazing flexibility in moving from technical fireworks to sweet, tender lyricism. […] The exemplary organization, the friendly atmosphere, the right choice of invited artists and the richness of intellectual, not only aesthetic experiences make me want to put this event [Rudolf Firkušný Piano Festival] on my calendar for good.

KlasikaPlus.cz (Kateřina Pincová)

[…] The most difficult task, however, was certainly to raise the interpretation to the level of symphonic sound, i.e. to support the creation of timbres as much as possible and to reproduce sufficiently convincingly the places that are entrusted in the score to characteristically different instruments (e.g. strings). Some parts were unsurpassed in this respect (e.g. I have never heard the opening of Vltava in such a colourful, sonically compact way and at the same time so specifically processed).

OperaPlus.cz (Jiří Bezděk)

[…] Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, a French pianist of the middle generation, presented extraordinary abilities and skills in the field of piano coloristics and poetry. […] In Bavouzet’s interpretation of impressionistic means of expression, we hear not only the plots in the first plane, but we also capture the plasticity in the relations of the accompanying plots – counter-voices, accompanying figurations, etc. Moreover, everything has a specific timbre corresponding to the set content.

The following texts have been prepared by the author of copies of historical instruments, the master Christoph Kern, whose art and work can be found on this website.

Michael Mietke’s Harpsichord, Berlin ca. 1710
A 2013 copy by Christoph Kern

In his time, Michael Mietke was one of the most renowned instrument builders in northeastern Germany. His fame extended far beyond Berlin. He is closely associated particularly with Johann Sebastian Bach and his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Although little information has survived about what harpsichords J. S. Bach preferred or owned, we know for certain that he commissioned a large harpsichord from his employer in Köthen, made by Michael Mietke, on which he premiered his Brandenburg Concertos. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s “working” harpsichord for Frederick II also came from Mietke’s workshop. The original of it has been preserved in Berlin’s Charlottenburg Palace. Mietke’s work is a fusion of the conflicting sound concepts of the Franco-Flemish tradition and the Italian tradition. His instruments are therefore suitable for a wide range of styles. The sonic (tonal) purity and richness of the registers make it easy to follow even complex voice leading. This makes them particularly suitable for polyphonic music. Mietke had an excellent knowledge of how to adapt different architectural styles. He was once even accused of forgery because he copied French instruments and sold them as imported goods at high prices.

Anton Walter’s Hammerflügel, Vienna 1795
A 2007 copy by Christoph Kern

At the end of the 18th century, Anton Walter was one of the best and most famous Viennese piano builders. One of his instruments was even owned by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who had it transported all over Vienna for his Academy concerts. The instrument is now in Mozart’s house in Salzburg. Anton Walter’s pianos are often copied today, not only because he set a new high standard with his work, but because they represent an entire era. Beethoven also wanted a piano from Walter. However, Walter was unwilling to meet the composer’s special demands and, moreover, demanded the usual purchase price. Unlike his competitors, who always provided Beethoven with the latest models for free, Walter could probably afford this approach. Early pianos of this era usually have a range of five or five and a half octaves and two knee levers instead of pedals. One lifts the “dampers”, the other operates a mechanism that forces a thin substance between the hammer and the strings, producing a softer sound, as if the string were struck with a softer hammer.

Conrad Graf’s Hammerflügel, Vienna 1826
A 2019 copy by Christoph Kern

While the 19th century saw an acceleration in piano production, the size, scale of the keyboard, mechanics and musical aesthetic requirements were constantly changing. Two design approaches – English/French on the one hand and South German/Viennese on the other – competed with each other and differed significantly in mechanics and sound. In the 1820s, Conrad Graf reached a peak in the construction of the Viennese type of piano. His instruments are still among the most sought-after today and are unique not only in their technical but also in their tonal quality. Their sound is rich in colour and nuance, warm and “romantic” in the best sense of the word. This makes “ein Graf” an excellent choice for the late works of Beethoven and especially Schubert. As was customary at the time, the construction was all wood, with no iron frame or cast-iron plate. The hammers are not covered with felt but with leather. The sound can be changed by means of four pedals.

Ignaz Pleyel’s Hammerflügel No. 14897, Paris 1848
Original restored by Christoph Kern

The pianos made by Parisian piano builder Ignaz Pleyel had a lasting influence on 19th century piano  compositions. They are characterised by their great variety of sound and are unsurpassed, especially in more intimate settings. Their sound is extremely melodious and malleable. They are closely associated with the work of Fryderyk Chopin, who owned several Pleyel instruments during his lifetime and held them in high esteem. His last piano, No. 14810, is housed in the Chopin Museum in Warsaw. It dates from the same year as the original, which will be presented in Prague, and is identical in construction. Pianos of this type were produced on a large scale and adorned many Parisian salons in the 19th century. They are an excellent testimony to the musical taste of the period in which they were made.