Sunday Music Show | All stories

The Czech band Jelen is the fresh winner of the Anděl Award for the best album of 2016. The band plays roots music, inspired by various genres, such as country, folk, bluegrass and blues, and has cultivated a reputation for vibrant live performance. The band’s second album, which received the award, is called Vlčí Srdce or Wolf’s Heart.

Martina Trchová is a Prague based singer and songwriter. Her most recent album, called Holobyt or Unfurnished Flat, has just won the Anděl Award in the folk and country category. The collection of twelve jazz-pop songs is connected by the motive of searching for a home. Trchová is accompanied by a trio of musicians consisting of guitarist Patrik Henel, bass player Radomír Polívka and drummer Petr Chlouba.

(The) Last Summer is the title of the recently released debut LP by Prague band Cold Cold Nights. The group are led by Jakub Jirásek, who previously performed as a solo singer-songwriter under the name J, and are marked by a guitar-based sound that alternates between heavy and catchy and is always easy on the ear. And they produced one of the best Czech music videos in years for standout track Joie.

We are featuring music from 18th century Prague performed by Collegium Marianum this week.

Jana Koubková is one of the country’s most versatile artists – first and foremost a Czech jazz singer, she moves effortlessly among blues and swing, through mainstream, bebop, jazz-rock, free jazz, ethno and fusion. Her latest CD –I Just Keep Walking – is a collection of twelve songs across different genres.

One of the Czech Republic’s most popular band, Mňága & Žďorp, have recently released a new album marking thirty years on Czech music scene.. Founded in 1987 in Valašské Meziříčí, the alternative rock band shot to fame already with their first album called “Made in Valmez”, which was awarded Czech album of the 1990s. The band’s thirteenth album is called Třínohý pes or Three-legged dog and features a number of guest musicians, including autoharp and banjo player Fanda Holý and singer Nikola Mucha.

Jan Dismas Zelenka is considered one of the most significant baroque composers, yet his music had been largely forgotten after his death and was only rediscovered 150 years later by the composer Bedřich Smetana. Today, each new discovery of Zelenka’s previously unknown works is a sensation of its kind. His Easter Mass, or Missa Paschalis, composed in 1726, saw its modern-day premiere just a few years ago, when it was performed by Prague’s Ensemble Inégal.

It’s not at all hard to see why Guru by Tomáš Palucha was named LP of the year for 2016 by Czech Radio’s youth and alternative station, Wave. The captivating and ambitious guitar-based record mixes up dreamy, atmospheric tracks with poppy moments, while the variety of guest vocalists (it is Palucha’s first release to feature voice) makes for a broad and highly satisfying palette.

One of the most outstanding personalities on the Czech pop and rock scene Věra Špinarová has died at the age of 65. Dubbed the Czech Tina Turner, Špinarová recorded her first album at the age of 16. There was no one to match her for voice range and power and her incredible vitality set her apart from other artists on the Czech pop scene. In a career spanning half a century she recorded dozens of albums and gave thousands of concerts at home and abroad. Her biggest hit is: Jednoho dne se vrátíš to the music from Once Upon a Time in the West.

Lubomír Brabec is one of the country’s most brilliant guitarists and many rank him among the best guitar plyers in the world. In a career spanning over four decades he has captivated audiences at home and abroad, and recorded around 30 CDs. Critics have high praise for his immaculate technique as well as his inventive and original approach to music. Lubomír Brabec's many recordings include works by Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Janáček and Prokofiev, but also Spanish music and hits by McCartney. In 1997 he became the first musician in the world to perform