Berg Orchestra

{{Infobox orchestra

| name = Berg Orchestra

| type =

| native_name = Orchestr Berg

| native_name_lang =

| short_name =

| image =

| caption =

| alt =

| former_name =

| founded = {{Start date|2001}}

| disbanded =

| later_name =

| location = Prague, Czech Republic

| concert_hall =

| principal_conductor = Peter Vrábel

| music_director = Peter Vrábel

| website = [http://www.berg.cz/en/ www.berg.cz]

}}

Berg Orchestra (Czech: Orchestr Berg),{{Cite book|first=W|last=von Collas|title=European Music Directory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kygKAQAAMAAJ|publisher=K. G. Saur Verlag|year=2001|page=11|isbn=3598114117}} initially formed as a group of like-minded music students in 1995 and officially founded in 2001 by Slovak conductor Peter Vrábel,{{Cite web|title=Lidové noviny|url=http://ceskapozice.lidovky.cz/sound-of-the-cutting-edge-0x9-/tema.aspx?c=A110506_135656_pozice_13930|url-status=dead|newspaper=Lidové noviny|publisher=Mafra|date=9 May 2011|language=cs}} is a professional orchestra in Prague, Czech Republic whose stated objective is "to constantly search for inspiration and accommodate new impulses from every sphere of contemporary life."{{Cite web|first=Masha|last=Volynsky|title=Berg Orchestra experiments with form and setting of contemporary music|url=https://english.radio.cz/berg-orchestra-experiments-form-and-setting-contemporary-music-8547213|website=Radio Prague International|date=26 February 2013|access-date=30 November 2024}}

Aside from its performances in traditional concert halls, Berg performs in museums and sewage treatment facilities, on theater stages, in churches and synagogues, and sometimes accompanies silent film screenings or dance performances. The orchestra's director Eva Kesslová says choosing the spaces for the performances is an important aspect of their work.

History

When Berg held its first season as an independent chamber orchestra in January 2001, the organizers were well acquainted with what they faced. "The music scene could be described as post-socialist", says Vrabel, who became Berg's conductor and artistic director. "Audiences rejected anything that was a bit more avant-garde, and many musicians looked at contemporary music with total disrespect. We had to learn how to live in freedom."{{Cite magazine|first=Frank|last=Kuznik|url=https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-434413105/music-impossible-how-the-berg-orchestra-persuaded|title=Music Impossible: How the Berg Orchestra Persuaded Prague to Join the 21st Century|magazine=Czech Music Quarterly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819142430/https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-434413105/music-impossible-how-the-berg-orchestra-persuaded|archive-date=19 August 2016}} Vrábel is a guest conductor at the National Theater in Prague.{{Cite web|title=Berg Orchestra|url=https://berg.cz/en/|website=Berg Orchestra official website|access-date=30 November 2024}}

Collaborations

Collaboration is central to Berg Orchestra. International composers with whom the orchestra has closely worked include Heiner Goebbels,{{Cite web|first=Frank|last=Kuznik|title=A modern burnish for Prague Spring|url=https://bachtrack.com/review-berg-orchestra-goebbels-prague-spring-festival-may-2015|website=Bachtrack|date=26 May 2015|access-date=30 November 2024}}{{Cite news|title=Goebbelsův scénický koncert na Pražském jaru ukáže různé prožitky války|url=http://art.ihned.cz/klasicka-hudba-a-opera/c1-64063560-goebbels-steinova-berg-prazske-jaro|newspaper=Hospodářské noviny|publisher=Economia|date=25 May 2015|access-date=30 November 2024|language=cs}}{{Cite web|title=Black On White|url=http://www.heinergoebbels.com/en/archive/works/complete/view/37/past-dates|website=Heiner Goebbels|access-date=30 November 2024}} Fausto Romitelli,{{Cite news|title=Orchestr Berg připomínal kameníka, který z hromady netříděného materiálu postavil perfektní zeď|url=http://archiv.ihned.cz/c1-65197940-orchestr-berg-romitelli-bad-trip-recenze|newspaper=Hospodářské noviny|publisher=Economia|date=9 March 2016|access-date=30 November 2024|language=cs}} Lera Auerbach and many others, along with such renowned Czech figures as Marek Kopelent and {{ill|Martin Klusák|cs}}. The orchestra enjoys a longstanding collaborative association with the Spitfire dance theatre company.{{Cite news|first=Magdalena|last=Čechlovská|title=Taneční Spitfire Company na jevišti při krocení koní doprovází hudebníci z Orchestru Berg|url=http://archiv.ihned.cz/c1-65540690-spitfire-company-nejtek-berg-constellations-recenze|newspaper=Hospodářské noviny|publisher=Economia|date=2 December 2016|access-date=30 November 2024|language=cs}} In 2018, Berg Orchestra collaborated on the world premiere of the Tiger Lillies' Bohemian Nights show in Prague.{{Cite web|title=The Tiger Lillies Staging World Premiere in Prague: The British band will perform Bohemian Nights with the Berg Orchestra|url=https://prague.tv/en/s72/c200/n15608-The-Tiger-Lillies-staging-world-premiere-in-Prague|website=Prague TV|date=31 August 2018|access-date=30 November 2024|language=cs}}

Films

In 2009, at the Spanish Synagogue in Prague, Berg premiered Jan Dušek's incidental music for E. Mason Hopper's 1922 silent film Hungry Hearts.{{Cite web|title=Hungry Hearts|url=http://www.berg.cz/en/soutez_dusek09.html|website=Berg Orchestra official website|access-date=30 November 2024}} featuring a live recording of Berg Orchestra premiering Jan Dušek's incidental music, official website.

Nuberg Award

The competition gives out one Nuberg Award per year. The jury consists of distinguished figures from the international contemporary music world who, according to Vrábel, are entirely from outside the Czech Republic, and not only for the objectivity they provide. He told Česká pozice: "It's also for the young composers to have feedback from the international music scene".

Outside awards and recognition

Peter Vrábel is a Gideon Klein Prize holder.{{Cite web|title=Peter Vrábel|url=https://zapdoc.tips/czech-music-quarterly-peter-vrabel-music-competitions-czechd382b6e006ed8b360e549473abfed8bb54666.html|website=Zapdoc.tips|via=Czech Music Quarterly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325205341/https://zapdoc.tips/czech-music-quarterly-peter-vrabel-music-competitions-czechd382b6e006ed8b360e549473abfed8bb54666.html|archive-date=25 March 2019}} In 2010, Vrábel and Berg Orchestra were commended for artistic excellence and the promotion of Czech music by the Czech section of the International Music Council of UNESCO.{{Cite web|title=About Peter Vrábel|url=http://www.berg.cz/en/about_dir.html|website=Berg Orchestra official website|access-date=30 November 2024}}