Formed in 2005 by Petr Kotík as the resident chamber orchestra for the biennial Ostrava Days, Ostravská banda (on the picture with artistic director Petr Kotík, Ostrava Days 2011) consists of young musicians from Europe and U.S. whose primary interest is the performance of new music. Principal conductors are Petr Kotík, Roland Kluttig, Peter Rundel, Ondřej Vrabec, in 2011 Johannes Kalitzke and Barbara Kler cooperated with Ostravská banda during Ostrava Days Festival. The core instrumentation of 24 payers can change according the requirements of each score.
The repertoire include composers of the 20th century: John Cage, Morton Feldman, György Ligeti, Luigi Nono, Edgard Varése, and
Iannis Xenakis, among others, and our contemporaries Louis
Andriessen, Elliot Carter, Petr Kotík, Alvin Lucier, Tristan Murail,
Phill Niblock, Christian Wolff, Salvatore Sciarrino, Wolfgang Rihm, Martin Smolka,
Miroslav Srnka, Peter Graham ,and Petr Bakla among many young emerging composers.
Apart from regular performances at Ostrava Days festivals, Ostravská banda permorms and tours at such venues as the Paris Conservatoire, Zankel Hall, Prague Spring Festival, Akademie der Künste in Berlin, Vredenburg in Utrecht, Allice Tuly Hall at Lincoln Centre, and musicadhoy in Madrid, to name just a few.
They said about Ostravská banda in 2011:
..." In the Cage, the piano part, played here by
Joseph Kubera, is whatever the player makes of it: the soloist builds it by choosing
from a compilation of 64 short pieces. The ensemble players have similar
leeway, working from graphic notation that includes the instruction, “Any
number of pages may be performed, including none at all.” ... Curiously, Mr.
Kotik and company made the work sound entirely coherent, with
plentiful interplay and internal dialogue."
Alan Kozin, The New York Times, April, 16 2011
This year, Banda played with a lot of
energy, going very far above only reading notes. .. It's great that Czech
Republic (which is a bit „sleepy country” in the field of contemporary classical
music) boasts an ensemble capable of keeping up with leading European ensembles.. "
Petr Bakla, Harmonie 10/2011
Petr Kotík and Ostravská banda members, Ostrava Days 2011 festival
