Music Festival Composition Competition Everlasting Hope

Ari Dvořáků with his composition Petrichor is the Winner of the Composition Competition of the Music for the Everlasting Hope Endowment Fund

Ari Dvořáků has won the first year of the composition competition of the Music for the Everlasting Hope Endowment Fund, which organizes the Everlasting Hope Festival, with his composition Petrichor, which was premiered by the Bennewitz Quartet.

“For me, the winning composition combines moving melodies with vigour and accentuation which is so necessary for the development and build-up of the entire work. As a bonus, I expect that soundwise it is a good fit for the string quartet, which is not an easy type of composition,” said the festival programme director and member of the competition jury Petr Nouzovský. 

The competition organisers received 24 submissions from three countries. The winner was chosen by the musical composer and guitarist Lukáš Sommer, Slovak music composer Ľuboš Bernáth, member of the board of the Music for the Everlasting Hope Endowment Fund Martina Jankovská, Israeli music composer Yuval Shaked, and the Bennewitz Quartet. 

“Petrichor caught our interest with its delicate poetics and perfect sense for depiction of atmosphere,” added the members of the Bennewitz Quartet who performed the composition on 24 February in the Spanish Synagogue in Prague.

Ari Dvořáků was born in 1997 in Kyjov. He studied book illustration at SŠUD (Secondary School of Art and Design), audio engineering at VUT (Brno University of Technology), and sound design at the Masaryk University. He makes a living as a sound engineer for TV productions, copywriting, arrangements and composing. He collaborates mainly with amateur and semi-professional musical ensembles. Most recently, he has also started composing music for theatre plays – on 1 March, the fairy tale Tales of Little Rabbit Péťa was first shown at Radost Theatre. His most extensive work so far was the musical Hlubina, which had its premiere in 2020 at Dělnický dům in Brno-Židenice. In his free time, he writes articles and short stories and plays the viola in two amateur orchestras.

The Bennewitz Quartet

The Bennewitz Quartet is a top chamber ensemble on an international scale, evidenced not only by their winning two prestigious competitions – in Osaka in 2005 and the Prémio Paolo Borciani in Italy in 2008 – but also by critical acclaim. Already in 2006, the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote: "...in addition to the clear structuring of the music, the sonically beautiful tonal painting and intonation purity of the performance were admirable. It is very rare that one experiences such artistic and effective-sounding harmonies... Great art.” The group has also received many awards on the domestic stage. In 2004, Bennewitz's quartet was declared laureate of the Czech Society for Chamber Music at the Czech Philharmonic, and in 2019 the ensemble received the Classic Prague Award for the best chamber performance of the year.

The quartet regularly performs concerts on important Czech and foreign stages (Wigmore Hall London, Musikverein Vienna, Konzerthaus Berlin, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées Paris, The Frick Collection New York, Seoul Art Center, Rudolfinum, and others) and performs at festivals including the Salzburger Festspiele, Luzerne Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus, Dvořák's Prague, and Prague Spring. The ensemble has established artistic collaborations with such outstanding artists as Alexander Melnikov, Vadim Gluzman, Jean Yves Thibaudet, Krzysztof Chorzelski, Danjulo Ishizaka, Pietro de Maria, and more.

In addition to its rich musical expression, the quartet features a unique repertoire. In 2012 and 2015, the quartet performed the complete six Bartók quartets in a single evening at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino festival and in Uppsala, Sweden. In January 2014, they performed the world premiere of Slavomír Hořínka's Songs of Immigrants at the Konzerthaus in Berlin. In 2019, Supraphon released a recording of compositions by persecuted Jewish authors (V. Ullmann, H. Krása, E. Schulhoff, and P. Haas).

In the 2022/23 season, the Bennewitz Quartet was once again a guest at Hamburg's Laeiszhalle, and performed concerts at the Mozartfest in Würzurg, London's Wigmore Hall, and many other venues. The ensemble represented the Czech Republic in Madrid at the closing ceremony of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU. In 2022, the quartet took part in a complete performance of a cycle of six Bartók quartets in Leuven, Belgium, and at the Dvořák Festival Prague 2023 they continued their multi-year project of a complete performance of Antonín Dvořák's string quartets. During their US tour, the quartet returned to Cleveland and Washington and make their debut in Boston. Currently, the ensemble is preparing the release of a new CD of Joseph Haydn’s works.

Ľuboš Bernáth (Slovakia)

Born on November 8, 1977 in Nové Zámky, after graduating from elementary school, he attended the Gymnasium in Nové Zámky from 1992 to 1996. During this period, he also attended the ZUŠ in Nové Zámky, where he studied piano, accordion, and violin. After passing the matriculation exam, he continued his studies at the State Conservatory in Bratislava in the department of composition under Mgr. Art. Stanislav Hochel. After three years of study and passing the matriculation exam in 2001, he became a student at the VŠMU in Bratislava in the composition department in the class of Doc. Yevgenia Irshaia. From 2006, after successfully completing his studies, he worked until 2009 as a doctoral student at the Department of Music Theory of VŠMU under the guidance of Mgr. Art. Ladislav Kačica, and at the same time carried out teaching activities. In 2009, he successfully defended his dissertation and completed his doctoral studies. From 1999 to 2010, he was active at the Gabriel Rovňák Academy of Arts, where he taught composition, music theory, music history, aural analysis, and playing keyboard instruments. Since 2008, he has been working at the State Conservatory in Bratislava as a teacher of composition and theoretical subjects. Currently, he also works as an instructor at the Department of Music Theory at VŠMU in Bratislava, where he teaches musical analysis, counterpoint, and harmony. In addition to his teaching activities, he participates as a composer and conductor in many domestic and foreign music festivals, such as New Slovak Music, Melos Ethos, Orfeus, etc. In 2012, he was the artistic guarantor of the creation of a new youth orchestra at VŠMU, Ensemble Spectrum. Since 2013, he has been the vice-president of the Slovak Composers' Association and at the same time became an active member of the KBS Council for Science, Education, and Culture.

Since 2020, Martina Jankovská has been managing the Everlasting Hope festival, which she took over from its founder Jiří Polák († 2021). She is a member of the board of directors of the Music for Everlasting Hope Foundation. A lawyer by profession, she has been working in her own office under the ExIure brand since 2014; previously she worked in international law firms in Brno and Prague. For her, art, whether musical, visual, or dramatic, is an inseparable part of creating and perceiving beauty in life, serving to elevate the human spirit.

Petr Nouzovský, who ranks among the best European cellists of his generation, can be heard on many prestigious stages (Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Festival Hall Bad Kissingen, Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow, Herkules Saal in Munich). His playing is rated superlatively for its supreme technical nobility linked to the original musically tectonic construction of the compositions he interprets. In past seasons, Mr. Nouzovský has performed at many orchestral and recital concerts in Europe, North America, and Asia. Last season he performed together with the Nagoya Philharmonic, the PKF-Prague Philharmonia, the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno, and the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. He is a regular guest of Prague Spring, MHF Leoš Janáček, and Dvořák's Prague. He has also performed in Germany, China, Japan, New York, Estonia, and Poland in recitals and chamber concerts, or has been accompanied by orchestras (Krakow Philharmonic, Südwestfalen Philharmonic, Slovak Philharmonic). In 2024, Petr Nouzovský will make his first orchestral tour in South Korea, as well as a tour in Japan and China. Petr Nouzovský is the dramaturg of the Music Festival Everlasting Hope.

Yuval Shaked,- composer and musicologist born in 1955 im Kibbutz Geser (Israel), - studied from 1977-81 at the Rubin Music Academy, Tel Aviv University, and with Mauricio Kagel at the Musikhochschule Köln from 1981-84. He lectured in 1985-2005 at the Kibbutzim College in Tel Aviv, and in 2000-2023 at the University of Haifa (2011-15 Head of the Department of Music; 2016-2020 Head of the School of the Arts). In the years 1990-96 he served as Editor of Publications of the Israel Music Institute, and in 2000-08 he directed the Feher Jewish Music Center at the Diaspora Museum, Tel Aviv. In 2010, 2012, and 2014 he was a tutor at the International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt. He produced numerous concerts and CDs. His writings have been published in several journals, books, and lexikons. His compositions have been widely performed, among others at renowned festivals. A father of four and a grandfather of three, he lives in Israel.

Lukáš Sommer is one of the leading personalities of the current generation of young composers. In 1998, he began studying guitar at the Conservatory in České Budějovice under Professor Vilma Manová and composition under Professor Jiří Churaček. In 2003, he studied for one year at the Prague Conservatory under Professor Věroslav Neumann. In 2009, he graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts, where he studied composition under Professor Ivan Kurz. He is the author of more than fifty works of various genres. In addition to orchestral music (e.g., Cantata Thorns in the Veil, Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, Monolith for Wind Orchestra and Percussion, Concerto for Orchestra and others), Sommer focuses on chamber music (e.g., Two String Quartets, Piano Trio "Xcape", Labyrinth – Sonata for Harpsichord, Gypsy and Odysseus). Another line of Sommer's work is vocal music – often using the texts of contemporary poets (e.g., the Headland, Floating Island song cycle, the No one has caressed me for a long time melodrama, Song of the Gallows, and ABC). The opera Ela, Hela, and Stop, the libretto of a play by Václav Havel, holds a special place among his works. He also composes works for children, namely the children's opera Hercules and the musical Sindibad. His music has been interpreted by Sir Nicolas Daniel, Carlo Jans, Jana Boušková, Vilém Veverka, Pavel Šporcl, Jan Mikušek, Sebastien Bagnout, Jan Kučera, the Sednunum Orchestra, the Bremerhaven Orchestra, the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonic Choir, and others. In addition to performing regularly on the domestic scene, he has performed his music in more than 15 countries.

Ľuboš Bernáth (Slovakia)

He was born on November 8, 1977 in Nové Zámky. After graduating from elementary school, in the years 1992-96 he attended the Gymnasium in Nové Zámky. During this period, he attended the ZUŠ in Nové Zámky, where he studied piano, accordion, and violin. After passing the matriculation exam, he continued his studies at the State Conservatory in Bratislava, in the department of composition under Mgr. Art. Stanislav Hochel. After three years of study and passing the matriculation exam in 2001, he became a student at the VŠMU in Bratislava in the composition department in the class of Doc. Yevgenia Irshaia. From 2006, after successfully completing his studies, he worked until 2009 as a doctoral student at the Department of Music Theory of VŠMU under the guidance of Mgr. Art. Ladislav Kačica, and at the same time carried out teaching activities. In 2009, he successfully defended his dissertation and completed his doctoral studies. From 1999 to 2010, he was active at the Gabriel Rovňák Academy of Arts, where he taught composition, music theory, music history, aural analysis, and playing keyboard instruments. Since 2008, he has been working at the State Conservatory in Bratislava as a teacher of composition and theoretical subjects. Currently, he also works as an instructor at the Department of Music Theory at VŠMU in Bratislava, where he teaches musical analysis, counterpoint, and harmony. In addition to his teaching activities, he participates as a composer and conductor in many domestic and foreign music festivals, such as New Slovak Music, Melos Ethos, Orfeus, etc. In 2012, he was the artistic guarantor of the creation of a new youth orchestra at VŠMU, Ensemble Spectrum. Since 2013, he has been the vice-president of the Slovak Composers' Association and at the same time became an active member of the KBS Council for Science, Education, and Culture.

Since 2020, Martina Jankovská has been managing the Everlasting Hope festival, which she took over from its founder Jiří Polák († 2021). She is a member of the board of directors of the Music for Everlasting Hope Foundation. A lawyer by profession, she has been working in her own office under the ExIure brand since 2014; previously she worked in international law firms in Brno and Prague. For her, art, whether musical, visual, or dramatic, is an inseparable part of creating and perceiving beauty in life, serving to elevate the human spirit.

Petr Nouzovský, who ranks among the best European cellists of his generation, can be heard on many prestigious stages (Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Festival Hall Bad Kissingen, Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow, Herkules Saal in Munich). His playing is rated superlatively for its supreme technical nobility linked to the original musically tectonic construction of the compositions he interprets. During the past seasons, Nouzovský has performed at many orchestral and recital concerts in Europe, North America, and Asia. Last season he performed together with the Nagoya Philharmonic, the PKF-Prague Philharmonia, the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, the Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno, and the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. He is a regular guest of Prague Spring, MHF Leoš Janáček, and Dvořák's Prague. He has also performed in Germany, China, Japan, New York, Estonia, and Poland in recitals and chamber concerts, or has been accompanied by orchestras (Krakow Philharmonic, Südwestfalen Philharmonic, Slovak Philharmonic). In 2024, Petr Nouzovský will make his first orchestral tour in South Korea, and a tour in Japan and China. Petr Nouzovský is the dramaturg of the Music Festival Everlasting Hope.

Yuval Shaked - composer and musicologist, born in 1955 im Kibbutz Geser (Israel) - studied 1977-81 at the Rubin Music Academy, Tel Aviv University, and in 1981-84 with Mauricio Kagel at the Musikhochschule Köln. He lectured in 1985-2005 at the Kibbutzim College in Tel Aviv, and in 2000-2023 at the University of Haifa (2011-15 Head of the Department of Music; 2016-2020 Head of the School of the Arts). In the years 1990-96 he served as Editor of Publications of the Israel Music Institute, and in 2000-08 he directed the Feher Jewish Music Center at the Diaspora Museum, Tel Aviv. In 2010, 2012 and 2014 he was tutor at the International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt. He produced numerous concerts and CDs. His writings have been published in several journals, books, and lexikons. His compositions have been widely performed, among others at renowned festivals. He lives in Israel, father of four, and grandfather of three.

Lukáš Sommer is one of the leading personalities of the current generation of young composers. In 1998, he began studying guitar at the Conservatory in České Budějovice with Professor Vilma Manová and composition with Professor Jiří Churaček. In 2003, he studied for one year at the Prague Conservatory with Professor Věroslav Neumann. In 2009, he graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts, where he studied composition with Professor Ivan Kurz. He is the author of more than fifty works of various genres. In addition to orchestral music (e.g., Cantata Thorns in the Veil, Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, Monolith for Wind Orchestra and Percussion, Concerto for Orchestra and others), Sommer focuses on chamber music (e.g., Two String Quartets, Piano Trio "Xcape", Labyrinth – Sonata for Harpsichord, Gypsy and Odysseus). Another line of Sommer's work is vocal music – often using the texts of contemporary poets (e.g., the song cycle Headland, Floating Island, the melodrama No one has caressed me for a long time, Song of the Gallows, ABC). A special place among his works is occupied by the opera Ela, Hela and Stop, the libretto of a play by Václav Havel. He also composes works for children, namely the children's opera Hercules and the musical Sindibad. His music has been interpreted by Sir Nicolas Daniel, Carlo Jans, Jana Boušková, Vilém Veverka, Pavel Šporcl, Jan Mikušek, Sebastien Bagnout, Jan Kučera, Sednunum Orchestra, Bremerhaven Orchestra, Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, Prague Philharmonic Choir and others. In addition to performing regularly on the domestic scene, he has performed his music in more than 15 countries.