The Leoš Janáček International Music Festival

The Leoš Janáček International Music Festival is considered to be the third most important classical music festival in the Czech Republic. It is given by both its scope and the number of concerts, but above all, also by its quality.

It takes place in Ostrava and surrounding towns, in a city that is now going through a big transformation from a traditional industrial city into a pulsing modern metropolis where traditional industrial architecture meets with the new one. It has got a long musical tradition – I. Stravinskij, S. Prokofiev a P. Hindemith performed here in the past. Last but not least, the city is closely connected with the name of Leoš Janáček, who was born in Hukvaldy – only 30 km away from Ostrava, and who died in Ostrava in 1928. Janáček has been inspiring the name of classical music festivals since 1976.

The Leoš Janáček International Music Festival was established in 2018 by merging two important classical music festivals named after Leoš Janáček: Janáček’s May and Janáček’s Hukvaldy. The connection was rather logical, and all our expectations from the merger of the two festivals have been fulfilled, which has also been confirmed by the positive responses of listeners, the professional public, and the media, which we have been receiving since. We now have the chance to diversify the programs in a greater manner. For example, we can integrate better the folklore on which Janáček based his works, or to include opera performances in the festival again, etc. In the city of Ostrava, the festival began to make more use of non-traditional spaces for both concerts and relatively numerous accompanying events.

The world’s leading performers such as S. Estes, F. Furlanetto, G. Kremer, Amoyal, R. Capucon, R. Buchbinder, or M. Maisky have been guests to the festival. The great audience of Ostrava responds to individual artistic performances cordially and creates a unique atmosphere, and the festival team is always willing to offer the best possible service.

I look forward to seeing you at one of our concerts!

On behalf of the entire team

Jaromír Javůrek
director, LJIMF