Packed Prague Philharmonia concert marks start of Czech EU Council presidency

A concert by the Prague Philharmonia took place in the capital's Rudolfinum on Friday evening to mark the start of the Czech EU Council presidency. Prime Minister Petr Fiala and President Miloš Zeman spoke before the start of the concert. Due to the number of officials present, there were several members of the security service among the audience.

The evening in the packed Dvořák Hall opened with the Czech and EU anthems and continued with a concert program that included works by Czech composers, combining classical pieces with jazz and Czech folk music. A new piece for orchestra and piano titled Stronger than Yesterday, composed especially for the Czech presidency by pianist Tomáš Kačo, had its world premiere at the concert. The composition, described by music critics as an original fusion of classical, jazz and traditional Roma music, includes a line from President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk's favourite song Ach synku, synku. The concert was symbolically closed by the well-known piece Modlitby pro Marta, arranged for orchestra by the conductor Jan Kučera and sung by the opera singer Jiří Brückler.