Do you think great live music is always expensive? Now you can enjoy 10 concerts of world, folklore and ethnic music for only CZK 300. Concerts of Etno Jaro festival will take place in Stará Pekárna (“Old Bakery”) club – one every Thursday evening until April.

Schedule of Etno Jaro 2012

Concerts start at 8 p.m.

• Thu 2/2 – Trio de Janeiro (etnojazz)
• Thu 2/16 – Ladě (“rough chanson”)
• Thu 2/23 – Živé kvety (Slovak punk-folk band)
• Thu 3/1 – Los Rumberos Trio (Cuba/CZ, latin & afro-cuban)
• Thu 3/8 – Ahmed má hlad (south./east. European music)
• Thu 3/15 – Neočekávaný dýchánek
• Thu 3/22 – Tubabu (west-african music) + support: OIT
• Thu 3/29 – Di Grine Kuzine (Berlin-based klezmer band)
• Thu 4/4 – Bran (Czech band playing music of Brittany)
• Thu 4/12 – KlezMehrin (klezmer) – on the top picture

Before the first concert on 2/2, a festival pass can be bought at Stará Pekárna (8 Štefánikova st.) for only CZK 300 (€12).

Single tickets cost from CZK 100 to CZK 150 and the pass can be bought later for CZK 450.

One of the most distinct trip-hop artists, Manchester-based duo Lamb will perform a concert at Fléda club (24 Štefánikova st.) on Sunday, February 5.

Lamb are famous for blending trip hop with jazz and elements of drum and bass. Wikipedia

Lamb consists of Andy Barlow and Lou Rhodes. The duo was active from 1996 to 2004; they reunited for the new album 5 and a tour in 2009.

On Sunday, Lamb will be supported by The Ramona Flowers and Jay Leighton. The concert starts at 8 p.m. Tickets cost CZK 550(pre-sale)/599.

Zemanova kavárna at 4 Josefská st. (not to be confused with Zemanova kavárna at Koliště park) was reopened after a refurbishment. Beside coffee and candies, it offers screenings of the most popular Czech films – with English subtitles.

The series called “Kinokavárna” (cine-café) will be launched at Wednesday, January 25, by a bizarre 1980s proto steam punk adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians. Directed by the creator of many popular comedies, Oldřich Lipský, the movie has gained a cult following.

The screening starts at 8 p.m. You can follow more events via the Facebook page of BIOGRAF film club. In the forthcoming months, A Nice Plate of Spinach, Adele Hasn’t Had Her Dinner Yet and Riders in the Sky will be shown.

Updated: I totally forgot about the price of tickets. They cost only CZK 50 (€2) each, a piece of candy is included.

Images of the mind (source: moravska-galerie.cz)

Exhibition Images of the Mind presents how both artists and scientists have been envisioning the human mind for centuries. It is on view at the Moravian Gallery until 3/18 2012.

The exhibition will display a wide scope of exhibits: from medieval medical tractates and illuminated manuscripts via medical illustration from the 19th century to current high-tech biomedicine images and visualizations. They will be accompanied by a broad spectrum of artistic expressions of various origins that depict the working of the mind – such as Renaissance portraits representing the “movement of the mind” or examples of Chinese landscape paintings created as clear metaphors of the human mind, works of art of classic modernism and contemporary art, including installations, new media and videoart. (source: Moravská Galerie)

If you are interested, check out the schedule of English/German language guided tours.

Ernst and Herbert looking into the garden in the mid 1930s.

German artist Dirk Brömmel mashes up stills from Tugendhats’ family album with the look of their famous villa in the early 21st century. You can see the disturbing ghost-like results at Brno House of Arts until January 29, 2012.

Tugendhats owned and used their “forever modern” house only for few years in the 1930s, as they decided to leave the country before WW2. The villa was confiscated and the state has never returned it back. Therefore observing little kids playing in a house now used as a museum of modern architecture seems “inappropriate” in some way.

The exhibiton is located in Brno House of Arts at 2 Malinovského náměstí sq., tickets cost CZK 80 each.

Greta Tugendhat with kids in front of the famous onyx wall.

Right now, Tugendhat villa is closed for maintanance. It will reopen in early 2012.

Janáček's Theatre (source: Wikimedia Commons)

From 2012 on, the quality of life in Brno may be going down.

The municipal budget of Brno got hit hard not only by the ongoing finance/debt crisis but also by a new rule, enforced by finance minister Miroslav Kalousek. The new system of wealth redistribution gives more public money to the so far underfinanced small Czech towns, while it cuts the donations to the so far overfinanced large cities. This means that the municipal budgets of Brno will be some 900,000,000 CZK (€35M) tighter in the future years.

While the town council does not even seem to try to save some money on huge infrastructure projects (like the new railway station), it has given a clear order to the directors of town-owned companies focused on culture and leisure time: find a way in which you can save 20 % of your budgets every year.

So, from the state of not really thinking much about money (no offense), many institutions instantly switched into a state of a saving shitstorm. And this could have bad consequences to the quality of life in Brno:

• Janáček’s Opera was supposed to close for seven months, which would actually mean the very end of this famous institution. After a huge protests of artists, fans of opera and some public personas (including former president Václav Havel), and also after a negative foreign press coverage, the town coucil is looking for a way how to save the opera. It is likely it will be joined with some other institution.
• Zoological garden is going to fire 20 percent of its employees
• Cinema Scala is going to close down. The town-owned space will be rented to another institution, probably to the owners of Fléda club.
• The price of public transport tickets and coupons will rise. Not only because the budget cuts, but also due to the VAT increase (14 percent, the highest level in the central Europe).

The cuts should not affect most of alternative clubs, festivals and events, as the council has not been cuddling them with donations. Surprisingly, this is becoming their advantage.

The Kids Are All Right (USA, 2010) - screened on November 6 at Bakala Hall

One of the most important annual events focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and related topics, Queer Festival Mezipatra, is launching in Brno on November 2.

Although Mezipatra is known as a film festival, it will entertain the town for one week with theatre, concerts and a series of debates “Queer café”. Check out the schedule at the semi-translated (shame!) official website.

This year, the festival caused some controversy with its trailer already, introducing a breast-feeding set for fathers:

After November 8, Mezipatra moves to other large Czech towns.

Artist Marina Obradovic showing a piece of her recent exhibition in the Museum of Romani Culture. (source: Facebook)

One of the most interesting museums of Brno, the one dedicated to the culture of Romani people, celebrates its 20th anniversary.

A special exhibition “Under a magnifying glass” describes the foundation of the musem and its – already quite long – history. It will stay open until March 18, 2012 (except for Mondays and public holidays).

Museum of Romani Culture in Brno claims to be the first and so far the only institution of its kind in Europe. It is located at 67 Bratislavská st. Check out the official page for more info.

The Astronaut on the Roof: a comical road movie about two scriptwriters who write a film about two scriptwriters who write a film about a teenage couple who become bank robbers.

Short films from over 40 countries are heading to the 52nd International Short Fiction Film Festival Brno 16. The event is taking place in cinema Art and Bakala hall from Wednesday to Sunday. And most of the screenings will contain English subtitles.

Interested in alternative cinema? Yes? Hurry up to the official website of “Brno16″. No? Well, you can stand a short film anyway and maybe you’ll find out that you actually like it. Check it out anyway! (And don’t forget that the festival bar Karel Never Sleeps at Bakala Hall will have Poutník beer from Pelhřimov on tap for only 19 CZK!)

Brno16 is one of the oldest festivals in Brno. This year, the event got a new director, Marek Loskot, who gave it very sympathetic “punk” feel. The event got promoted via a viral campaign promising “250 shorts for only CZK 100″, which attracted some people interested in buying discounted clothes. I hope it will be a huge success. And not only because we are friends and Brno Now is listed as a partner :)

Coffee week

80 cafés, dozens of events, litres of coffee dark as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love. The 2011 Coffee Week is hitting Brno from October 1 to October 7 and it would be a pity to miss it.

The International Coffee Day is knocking on the door, so why not explore the cafés of Brno in the first week of October? Their owners are have prepared a festival called “Coffee Week”, which brings dozens of various events to the town.

You can check out the schedule at this great English language website.

My picks are: concerts at café Zastávka (wonderful tiny café in quarter Židenice; 232 Táborská st.) and “paint your own cup” event in Mitte (even smaller café located in hostel Mitte, offering excellent “more fair than fair trade” coffee; 11 Panská st).

Source: www.slavnosti-brno.cz

Náměstí svobody sq. is going to host three festivals in a row: you can enjoy food, wine and local culture. Sadly, not at the same time.

From September 22 to September 25, food festival is taking place at the central square. It got some criticism last year, as it had not presented the best side of Moravian gastronomy, just some average local restaurants. I hope it will be better this year.

A week after, from September 30 to October 7, a popular anual wine festival will present the works of local winemakers.

The last festival will be dedicated to Moravian folklore culture. The “days of regions” will be held from October 10 to October 16.

(To be correct, the series launched with a beer festival, which was mentioned at the Facebook page of Brno Now. I was quite disappointed with it, as some beers were rather undrinkable.)

The events are organised by the council of Brno-centre. The official website is available in Czech only. What a surprise.

Emilio Maya y grupo

Top flamenco guitarists from all over the world, including Spanish Andalusia, flamenco’s homeland, have been meeting in Brno for the last 20 years.

This jubilee year opens at the grand courtyard of the Spilberk castle on Sunday, August 7, at 20 p.m. by a performance of the Flamenco Night. It will be staged by ensemble Flamenco De Granada (vocals, dance, guitar, percussions) led by one of most respected flamenco guitarists Emilio Maya.

From August 8 to 13 the festival continues with concerts by top world guitarists at the New Town Hall. The New Town Hall will host concerts by phenomenal Peruvian-American virtuoso Jorge Caballero, worldwide famous French guitarist and composer Roland Dyens, the best chamber recording of 20 century prize winner Tetra Guitar Quartet, renowned guitar duo Katona Twins, Spanish virtuoso and Malaga Academy of Music director Javier Garcia Moreno and William Anderson from the U.S.

The Festival is co-organized by the Brno Cultural Centre and Czech Guitar Association.

Tickets are available at BKC´s advance booking office at 17 Běhounská st. or at an evening box office before each concert. Tickets for Flamenco Night are available from CZK 250 to 440; other concerts from CZK 130 to 160. Owing to great interest we recommend buying your ticket in advance.

For more information see www.guitarcz.com and www.bkc.cz.

Schedule

Špilberk Castle

August 7, 8 p.m., EMILIO MAYA y GRUPO – Flamenco De Granada, Spain

A concert by one of best-renowned flamenco guitarists with his flamenco ensemble (vocals, dance, guitar, percussions). Let’s recall that members of the ensemble played for Michelle Obama, wife of the U.S. president, while she stayed in Granada.

New Town Hall, 1 Dominikánské náměstí sq., Brno

August 8, 8 p.m., ROLAND DYENS, France

Top world-renowned guitar player and composer, Roland Dyens is also a professor at the Conservatoire Superior in Paris and his compositions are among the most played ones in the guitar world.

August 9, 8 p.m., JAVIER GARCIA MORENO

Exquisite Spanish guitar player, giving concerts in world’s major concert halls, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Javier Garcia Moreno is a director of St. Cecilia Conservatoire in Malaga.

August 9, 5:15 p.m., WILLIAM ANDERSON / the U.S.

Leading American guitar player and composer, leader of the “Cygnum” ensemble focusing on new music, and a guitar professor at the prestigious Sarah Lawrence College.

August 10, 8:00 p.m., TETRA QUARTET, London, England

Guitar quartet that was awarded the first prize by the GRAMOPHONE magazine for the best chamber guitar recording of 20 century. Quartet members: Richard Hand, Steve Goss, Graham Roberts and Carl Hering.

August 11, 8:00 p.m., KATONA TWINS, Hungary

One of world’s best guitar duos, winners of many competitions that made several rewarding performances at the highly prestigious festival of PROMS in England.

August 12, 4:00 p.m., Concert by the performers and festival’s guitar orchestra

Conducted by Vladimír Novotný

August 12, 8:00 p.m., JORGE CABALLEROS, Peru – the U.S.

Ingenious Peruvian guitarist gives concerts in world’s most prestigious concert halls. Jorge Caballeros is famous for his admiration of Antonín Dvořák and he can play Dvořák´s New World symphony as a whole, transcribed for a guitar.