Step into one of Prague’s most striking interiors and listen to music that was meant to be silenced, yet survived. The second evening of the Everlasting Hope festival brings a program rich in deep emotion, contrasts, and symbolism to the Spanish Synagogue.
Works by composers whose lives were tragically shaped by history (Haas, Ullmann, Schulhoff) will be heard in dialogue with those who managed to escape (Friml), and with those who are shaping the future (the winner of the composition competition). All of this will be performed by internationally acclaimed tenor Jan Petryka, pianist Johanna Haniková, and the young Vienna-based Ineo Quartet.
The dramaturgical centerpiece of the concert is the song cycle Fata Morgana by Pavel Haas. This early work, rich in lyricism and color, was composed before his internment in Terezín. It unites the human voice with a piano quintet in a unique harmony, brought to life on stage by all of the evening’s performers.
You will also hear music by Viktor Ullmann and Erwin Schulhoff—composers who created works of the highest caliber even in the darkest of times. As a symbolic counterpoint, Záviš Songs by Rudolf Friml will be performed, by a composer who emigrated to the United States with the help of Emma Destinnová. The evening concludes with a look toward the future—a world premiere of the winning work from the festival’s composition competition.
The Spanish Synagogue is not merely a concert hall—it is a memorial and an architectural jewel. Its Moorish style, golden ornamentation, and distinctive acoustics create the most dignified and powerful setting imaginable for the music of the Terezín composers. A concert in this space is not only a cultural experience, but a spiritual one as well.
Join us for an evening where music triumphs over oblivion.
