Béla Kéler: Memory of Bardejov
Artist: Czechoslovak Chamber DuoTitle: Memory of Bardejov, op.31 Label: Hevhetia Composer: Béla Kéler (arr. Pavel Burdych)Pavel Burdych, violin & Zuzana Berešová, piano
The
Czech violinist Pavel Burdych and Slovak pianist Zuzana Berešová have founded
the Czechoslovak Chamber Duo in 2004 when they met at the Janáček Academy of
Music and Performing Arts in Brno. They belong to the best chamber music
ensembles in the Czech and Slovak Republics. Their main aim is the worldwide
presentation of both Czech and Slovak music from the 19th century to the
present. In 2018, the duo showed its musical skills as the residential ensemble
of the diplomatic missions of the Czech and Slovak Republics during the
celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Czechoslovak
Republic and the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Czech and Slovak
Republics. Burdych and Berešová performed in European capitals (Bucharest,
Dublin, Chisinau, Lisbon, Nicosia, Podgorica, Riga, Rome, Stockholm, Vilnius,
Warsaw), in Asia (Taipei, Beijing, Jakarta), America (Havana, Brasilia) and
Africa (Cairo, Nairobi). In 2018, the international music festival Forfest
commissioned them to perform a programme, titled "Czech and Slovak Women
Composers", which included compositions by Vítězslava Kaprálová, Ivana
Loudová, Sylvie Bodorová, Iris Szeghy and Viera Janárčeková. In 2017, the
Czechoslovak Chamber Duo presented works of Czech composers Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich
Smetana and Leoš Janáček on its China concert tour (Beijing, Shanghai, Jiaxing,
Hangzhou, Qingdao, Jinan, Dezhou, Shijiazhuang, Dalian, Foshan, Jiangmen,
Pingxiang). In 2016, the duo released two CDs of music by Slovak composer
Ladislav Kupkovič and the concert waltzes of Bardejov's (a town in Slovakia)
most important composer Béla Kéler. The duo also took part in the Czech
Ministry of Culture's project, called "The Year of Czech Music 2014".
The duo performed the final concert at the Bohuslav Martinů Center in Polička,
Czech Republic. In 2013, Berešová and Burdych were invited to perform the music
of the Slovak composer Karol Elbert in the project "Karol Elbert -
known-unknown". In 2012, the Czech Radio label released their debut CD with
compositions by Czech and Slovak composers such as Antonín Dvořák, Peter
Machajdík and Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský. In 2011, they performed works by
Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský on the occasion of his 130th birthday on their South
Korea tour with a top concert in Seoul. On the European stages, they reminded
their audience of the 170th anniversary of Antonín Dvořák's birthday. As part
of the "Century of Eugen Suchoň" project organized by the Slovak
Ministry of Culture in 2008, they prepared 18 concerts with works by Slovak
composer Eugen Suchoň. The Czechoslovak Chamber Duo is appreciated by the
public and critics for its high level of professionalism and perfect interplay.
The performances of the duo convey many emotions, vitality and expressiveness.
Artist: Czechoslovak Chamber DuoTitle: Memory of Bardejov, op.31 Label: Hevhetia Composer: Béla Kéler (arr. Pavel Burdych)Pavel Burdych, violin & Zuzana Berešová, piano