The famous cycle of symphonic poems My Country, this time for piano duo, performed by prominent Czech pianists Miroslav Sekera and Jaroslava Vernerová Pěchočová. The concert, being one of the parts of the concert cycle Rok na 4 Doby, takes place on 24 September 2024 — a few days before Czech Statehood Day. The general partner of the concert cycle is the SKODA AUTO Endowment fund.

The famous musical piece of Czech composer Bedřich Smetana — Má Vlast — is inspired by Czech history, myths and landscapes. This masterpiece consisting of six symphonic poems (Vyšehrad, Vltava, Šárka, Z českých luhů a hájů, Tábor, Blaník) was composed between 1874 and 1879 when Smetana was already deaf. The composer lived near Mladá Boleslav at the time — in a lodge nearby a village called Jabkenice.

Smetana decided to compose this piece for the piano as well, perhaps in an effort to popularize this work or maybe even in order to make it accessible to everyone, even when an orchestra would not be able to play there. This symphonic poem is a masterful and emotionally captivating work of art, which will carry you into a piano wonderland. 

Miroslav Sekera (born 1975) is one of Czechia’s most renowned pianists because of the uniqueness of his performances and his understanding of timbre. He has been playing the piano and the violin ever since he was 3 years old. Thanks to his extraordinary musical talent, he was chosen to play the role of young W. A. Mozart in the film Amadeus (1984) directed by Miloš Forman. He later devoted himself to the piano entirely and studied at the Prague Conservatory and HAMU (The Music and Dance Faculty of The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague), where, under the guidance of professor Miroslav Langer, he finished his studies in 1999. He has taken part in many interpretation competitions where he received a number of awards, including a prize from the competition of F. Chopin in Mariánské Lázně, another from the international competition in Gaillard, France, as well as from the international competition of J. Brahms in Pörtschach, Austria, in 2002. He has published a number of CDs, works with Czech Radio and performs in his homeland as well as abroad. In 2011, he performed at the Prague Spring Festival. He has visited many prestigious stages such as Vienna, Washington D.C., Tokyo and many others, both solo as well as with an orchestra.