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The Czech Noneto, with - naturally - nine members, has a very long tradition, having been founded by students at the Prague Conservatory in 1924. The makeup of the group is unusual, as the nonet consists of violin and viola, cello, double-bass - and a traditional quintet. The result is a sound remarkably like a full chamber orchestra. Well-known personalities like Martinu and Prokofjev actually wrote pieces specifically for the Czech Noneto.

This band - made up of students from the Prague Conservatory - concentrates on Gothic rather than Goth tunes, and offers you the chance to spend your evening with a bunch of young, brainy Czechs in a small, smoky theater instead of loud Americans. Made up of flute, guitar and two violins, the band blends spiritual, folk, and historic influences to create a unique sound, which they then combine with Latin and Czech texts.

The Prague Music Academy is home to some of the Czech Republic's best talent - both in its student body and in its professorial staff. Founded in 1946, the Prague Music Academy makes up in stodginess what it lacks in tradition - putting it on a par with like institutions around the globe. They are housed in one of the most beautiful buildings in Prague - a renaissance palace that's hidden behind the St Nicholas Church in the Lesser Town Square (Malostranske namesti).
HAMU (Prague Music Academy) Malostranske namesti 13, Prague 1, tel. 530 943/046

New-age husband and wife musicians Irena and Vojtech Havel consider their music primarily a way to communicate - not only with each other, but also with their instruments and with their audiences. She writes the texts while he composes the music. And even as the songs which they thus create are one entity, so do the Havels consider themselves more as one being than two. They draw much of their inspiration from frequent trips to India and from their daily yoga excercises which they say help them to concentrate. Classically trained, one of their specialties is playing historic music, baroque, on historic instruments, in an attempt to capture more authenticity. They're fond of tibetan bowls and gongs. Their group, Capella Antiqua E Moderna, is made up of a revolving door of musicians, depending on who has the time and feels up to playing. Once, this resulted in a concert by three basses, three trombones, a gong, an organ, strings and voice. The songs are written particularly for each given performance and not played again.

The Prague Hlahol was founded in 1861 as a choral youth association, but over the years their focus expanded to include instrumental as well as vocal music. They have been harrassed and hampered by restrictive governments from the Habsburgs to the Nazis; but have also participated in some the the Czech nation's proudest moments: they performed at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the National Theater, they occupy one of Prague's most architecturally important Art Nouveau buildings (their great hall was decorated by Alphonse Mucha) and they have been directed by greats like Bedrich Smetana. After languishing for decades under the communists, the Prague Hlahol has enjoyed a renaissance since the 1989 "Velvet Revolution," and their regular Wednesday concerts feature the brightest and the best in young Czech classical talent.
Prague Hlahol (Sal Prazskeho Hlaholu), Masarykovo nabrezi 16, Prague 1, tel. 293 430

Czech and European Old Music from the late Baroque and Renaissance periods, differs from traditional classical music in that it is simpler - both in composition and in the number of musicians required to play it. The Rozmberska kapela plays on historical instruments that are actually made by one of the members of the band, who is also a luthier. Prazsti instrumentalni soliste consists of seven strings, a trumpet and harpsichord; they particularly excel at works from the Romantic and late Romantic periods. Musica Bohemica is a chamber ensemble led by composer Jaroslav Krcek. Their standard repertoire is particularly strong in interpretations of folk, Gothic, and Baroque music.
The Church of Sts. Simon and Jude, Dusni ulice (next to the Hotel Intercontinental), Prague 1, tel. 24 89 32 27

Posaunenangeli Di Bohemia, or "Angelic Horns from Bohemia," specialize in old music. The group is made up of slide trombone, mellophone, harpsichord and voice, and they usually play in baroque dress. Their program is popular both here in the Czech Republic and abroad. Typical composers include Handel, Michna, Reiche, Tromboncino, Vodnansky, and Benedikt.

A choral group which specializes in medeival medleys and harmonizing, Prazsti madrgaliste (Prague Madrigals) usually perform without musical accompaniment. For their Christmas program, which is directed by Damiano Binetti, they sing medeival carols by Adam Michna of Otradovic, the composer of the "Cesky kanconial" (Czech Hymn Book) as well as songs by Frescobaldi and Monteverdi. Both venues listed are among the nicest for classical concerts in Prague.
Klaster sv. Anezky ceske (St Agnes convent), U milosrdnych 17, Prague 1, tel. 24 81 06 28
Prazsky salon v Nostickem palaci, Maltezke namesti, Prague 1, tel. 24 51 09 51

Organist Vladimir Roubal studied at both the Prague and Pilsen Conservatories, and rarely performs these days - as he is kept rather busy with his duties as the Director of Music at the Strahov Monastery in Prague. He is particularly accomplished in the art of improvisation, for which he is internationally recognized. His programs frequently include works by Schubert, Cherubini, Verdi and Franck - and Roubal's masterful renditions of these classics are often accompanied by National Theater soloist Zdena Kloubkova - a graduate of the Prague Academy of Performing Arts in operatic singing.

Making their debut in 1990 as the "Saxophonic Quartet," this group of young musicians have been winning increasingly more praise and honors ever since. The quartet is made up of soprano, alto, tenor and baritone sax - and their repertoire includes a number of works which were intended primarily for the saxophone, as well as some strictly saxophonic interpretations of standard compositions - and they have even had about a dozen compositions written especially for them. You'll find the whole of their repertoire on the CD they released in 1995 (to much acclaim).

New age composer Richard Pachman combines serious music, large-scale video projection and dance with the Krizik Fountain's unique elements of interactive water and light to create a one-hour show. The performance includes the composer's own music, as well as selections from Mozart - and will take you from the European Middle Ages to sunny modern-day Africa to ancient Egypt. It is at the last of these "destinations" that we find the Scarabeus beetle, a mystical symbol of the resurrection in ancient Egypt - and it is from this bug that the show takes its name.
Krizikova fontana, Vystaviste, Prague 7 - Holesovice, tel. 375 757, 872 9204

The Stamic Quartet, which has been playing together since about 1985, is fairly well-known at home and abroad. They won the prize for quartets at the International Competition of European Radio Associations in Salzburg in 1986, and the top prize of the Czech Association for Chamber Music for 1987 -- and their recording of pieces by Bohumil Martinu won the Grand Prix du Disque de l'Academie Charles Cross in 1991.

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