“And may we know her glory, even briefly! There is but one land, there is but one mother!” These fiery words from poet Vítězslav Hálek will conclude a concert confronting history with people of the present day who are able to give it an informed reading. Under the leadership of Václav Luks, the orchestra Collegium 1704 has long since earned a worldwide reputation as masters of the music of the baroque and classical periods, taking listeners back to the days when Bach was trying to hire better musicians or when bits of The Marriage of Figaro were being played by organ grinders. This time, however, Luks’s time machine is set to an era closer to our own, and there will be period instrument performances of the Hymn “The Heirs of White Mountain” and of Dvořák’s Piano Concerto played by Eric Guo, winner of the most recent Chopin Competition on Period Instruments in Warsaw with Martha Argerich among the jury members. Thanks to period instruments and informed interpretation, the Rudolfinum audience will be able to approximate the feelings of those in attendance at the premiere in 1878. Between the two works by Dvořák, many listeners will probably be surprised by Jan Václav Kalivoda’s Seventh Symphony – this refreshing, modern-sounding work was written in the year of Antonín Dvořák’s birth.

Harpsichordist and conductor Václav Luks founded the Prague baroque orchestra Collegium 1704 and vocal ensemble Collegium Vocale 1704 on the occasion of the Bach — Prague — 2005 project. In 2008, the Prague - Dresden Musical Bridge concert series was launched, weaving together the rich cultural traditions of both cities. In 2012, it seamlessly evolved into a second concert series, now entitled Collegium 1704, at the Rudolfinum. Launched in 2019, the Prague-based Collegium Vocale 1704 chamber concert series has been housed at the Vzlet Palace of Culture since 2021.

In recent years, Collegium 1704 has received invitations from prestigious organisers and concert halls such as Salzburger Festspiele, Berliner Philharmonie, Theater an der Wien, Wiener Konzerthaus, Lucerne Festival, BOZAR (Palais des Beaux-Arts) in Brussels, Chopin Festival in Warsaw, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Zaryadye in Moscow, a residence at the Opéra Royal in Versailles, and Bachfest Leipzig. Under the direction of Václav Luks, Collegium 1704 opened the Prague Spring International Music Festival with a rendition of Smetana’s My Fatherland in May 2021.

In the field of opera productions, Collegium 1704 built on the international success of Handel’s Rinaldo with notable performances of Mysliveček’s opera L’olimpiade, nominated for the 2014 International Opera Awards, and Vivaldi’s opera Arsilda, regina di Ponto, in its modern-era world premiere. In February 2022, Collegium 1704 presented Händel’s opera Alcina, directed by Jiří Heřman, in a co-production with ND Brno, Opéra Royal de Versailles, and Théâtre de Caen.

In 2014, Collegium 1704 collaborated with Bejun Mehta for a DVD production of Gluck’s opera Orfeo ed Euridice, directed by Ondřej Havelka. Additionally, they collaborated with Rolando Villazón on the creation of the BBC 2 documentary Mozart in Prague. The ensemble recorded music for Petr Václav’s historical feature film Il Boemo, depicting the life of Josef Mysliveček, which is scheduled to premiere in the summer of 2022.

Collegio 1704’s recordings have garnered acclaim from both audiences and music critics alike, earning repeated Diapason d’Or CD of the Month & Editor’s Choice awards, as well as a nomination for Gramophone Magazine’s CD of the Year award. Their well-received CD recordings feature Mysliveček’s violin concertos, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Zelenka’s Sonatas, and the world premiere of his Missa Divi Xaverii. Their most notable recent achievements include the first complete Czech recording of Händel’s Messiah from 2019 and a 3-CD set featuring Rameau’s opera Les Boréades. The latter received the Trophées 2020 award and the Dutch music critics’ Edison Klassiek 2021 award for the best opera release of the year.

In 2021, the ensemble founded its own on-line platform, UNIVERSO 1704, on which it releases premieres of video-concerts that showcase exceptional works in top-class interpretations, set against the unique ambiance of attractive venues in both the Czech Republic and Germany.

source: Collegium Vocale 1704

Václav Luks, a graduate of the Pilsen Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, furthered his education with specialised studies in early music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland.

In 2005, he founded the Prague Baroque Orchestra Collegium 1704 and the vocal ensemble Collegium Vocale 1704. Under his leadership, the ensembles have made guest appearances at prestigious festivals and performed in major European concert halls in cities such as Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg, Brussels, Amsterdam, Warsaw, and London, and have shared the stage with some of the world’s most acclaimed singers including Magdalena Kožená, Karina Gauvin, Vivica Genaux, Sandrine Piau, Philippe Jaroussky, Bejun Mehta, Sarah Mingardo, Adam Plachetka, and Andreas Scholl.

Their recordings have received not only enthusiastic acclaim from listeners but also numerous awards from critics, including the Trophées, the Diapason d’Or, and the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. In May 2021, Václav Luks conducted Collegium 1704 at the opening concert of the Prague Spring International Music Festival.

His activities have played a pivotal role in reviving interest in the music of Czech composers Jan Dismas Zelenka and Josef Mysliveček, and have strengthened Czech-German cultural ties by rediscovering the shared musical traditions of the two countries.

Under his leadership, Collegium 1704 recorded the music for Petr Václav’s documentary Confession of the Vanished and for his feature film Il Boemo about the life of Josef Mysliveček, where Václav Luks served as the chief musical consultant. Václav Luks has collaborated on operatic and theatrical productions with various stage directors such as Willi Decker, Ursel Herrmann, Louise Moaty, David Radok, Jiří Heřman, J. A. Pitínský, and Ondřej Havelka.

Since 2021, he has been a guest conductor with the Händel & Haydn Society in Boston, and for the 2022-2025 seasons, he holds the position of artist-in-residence with the Kammerakademie Potsdam.

In addition to his extensive involvement with Collegium 1704, Václav Luks also performs with other prestigious orchestras specialising in early music such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Netherlands Bach Society, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Concerto Köln, and La Cetra Barockorchester Basel.

His other engagements with modern orchestras include collaborations with the Czech Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others. At a benefit concert for the restoration of the Notre Dame Cathedral, Václav Luks conducted the Orchestre nationale de France, with which he has been performing regularly since 2019. Additionally, the French radio station France Musique devoted five episodes of its series Grands interpretes de la musique Classique to him. In June 2022, he was awarded the French order of merit Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his significant contribution to cultural heritage.

source: Collegium Vocale 1704

Eric Guo, a Toronto native, started playing piano at 4 years old. He is currently under full scholarship studying with John Perry and David Louie in 4th Year Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance (Honours) at The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory in Toronto, and is an alumnus of The Royal Conservatory’s Taylor Academy studying with Li Wang and John O’Conor.

He has been the top prize winner of several international competitions, including: Chopin Competition on period instruments in Warsaw, PianoTexas Concerto Competition, Minnesota e-Piano, Hastings Concerto Competition, Moscow Chopin Competition and Canadian Chopin Competition. He has also won CMC Grand Prize. Eric Guo was named one of the CBC 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30 and and he was the recipient of 2023 Hnatyshyn Foundation Developing Arts Grant in Piano.

Eric Guo has performed at prestigious venues in Europe, the USA and Canada, such as: Rudolfinum in Prague, Vzlet in Prague, Dresden Lukaskirche, Salle Cortot and Bibliothèque Polonaise in Paris, Warsaw National Philharmonic Hall, Chopin’s Birthplace in Żelazowa Wola, Chopin Museum in Warsaw, Krzysztofory Palace of Krakow Museum, Pszczyna Castle in Poland, Ateneo de Madrid, Bozar Salle Henry Le Bœuf in Brussels, Ehrbar Saal in Vienna, Merkin Concert Hall in New York (aired on WQXR), North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, Gusman Concert Hall in Miami, Koerner Hall, Salle Gilles Lefebvre, Maison des Arts Desjardins Drummondville, Four Seasons Center, Harbourfront Theatre, McMaster University LIVELab, Burlington Performing Arts Centre, etc. 2024 will see him performing in: January in Japan: Hamamatsu Act City, Hyogo Performing Arts Center, Tokyo Opera City Hall, February in Toronto with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under Naomi Woo, June in Miami Frost Chopin, July in Nohant, August in Duszniki, etc.

He has worked with several esteemed conductors, including: Vaclav Luks, Rory Macdonald, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Mark Russell Smith, Sergio Baietta, Earl Lee, Marco Parisotto, Denis Mastromonaco, Julien Proulx, Charles Demuynck, etc.

Appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras: UK’s Royal Philharmonic, Poland’s {oh!} Orkiestra, Czech’s Collegium 1704, Russia’s Ural Youth Symphony, Italy’s Brescia Master Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony, Minnesota Symphony, Drummondville Symphony, Ontario Philharmonic, Burlington Symphony Orchestra, Oakville Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra Toronto. In January 2024, he will perform both Chopin concertos with Bach Collegium Japan under Masaaki Suzuki in Tokyo, etc.

As a guest artist, he has played recitals at Paderewski Festival in Raleigh and Krakow Piano Summer. He has participated in many festivals and courses: Poland’s Radziejowice (modern and fortepiano), Italy’s Brescia, Italy’s Piano Academy Eppan, Gilmore Festival Fellowship and Maria Joao Pires' Partitura Project in Kalamazoo, PianoTexas, Miami’s Frost Chopin, California’s Music@Menlo, Cincinnati’s Art of the Piano, Philadelphia’s Curtis Summerfest, Academy Fortepiano Performance in Hunter NY, Orford Musique, etc.

Eric Guo has been mentored by many renowned artists, including: Emanuel Ax, Andrea Bonatta, Jeremy Denk, Dang Thai Son, Pavel Gililov, Krzysztof Jablonski, Kevin Kenner, Robert Levin, Robert McDonald, Anton Nel, Garrick Ohlsson, Ronan O’Hora, Piotr Paleczny, Maria Joao Pires, Ewa Pobłocka, Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń, Arie Vardi, Adam Wibrowski, etc.

source: Eric Guo

The Rudolfinum is one of the most important Neo-Renaissance edifices in the Czech Republic. In its conception as a multi-purpose cultural centre it was quite unique in Europe at the time of its construction. Based on a joint design by two outstanding Czech architects, Josef Zítek and Josef Schultz, a magnificent building was erected serving for concerts, as a gallery, and as a museum. The grand opening on 7 February 1885 was attended by Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria, in whose honour the structure was named. In 1896 the very first concert of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra took place in the Rudolfinum's main concert hall, under the baton of the composer Antonín Dvořák whose name was later bestowed on the hall.