New organ at St. Vitus Cathedral to premiere public’s choice composition

A new composition by Czech composer Ivo Bartoš will receive its world premiere on the new organ at Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral on Friday. His Fantasy on the St. Wenceslas Chorale won a public vote organised by Czech Radio, receiving 50 percent of the votes cast.

The premiere will be one of the highlights of the St. Vitus Organ Octave festival, which began this week with the blessing of the cathedral’s new organ. Bartoš will receive a prize of CZK 30,000.

The new instrument was built by German organ maker Gerhard Grenzing in Catalonia. The project is expected to cost up to CZK 160 million, with most of the funding raised through a public collection.