Prague Castle International organ festival - in St. Vitus Cathedral

Czech organist and music manager Michaela Káčerková is one of the leading figures of the contemporary music scene. She studied in Prague and Leipzig and performs across Europe, Japan, and South America. She has collaborated with orchestras including the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Capella Regia Praha, and Barocco Sempre Giovane. She is the founder of the J. C. F. Fischer International Music Festival and acts as director of the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra. Her recordings in the series Historical Organs of the Karlovy Vary Region represent a unique project showcasing Czech culture.

Conductor and horn player Ondřej Vrabec is a soloist with the Czech Philharmonic and Chief Conductor of the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared with leading orchestras across Europe and Asia and has collaborated with internationally acclaimed conductors such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Semyon Bychkov. He has won prizes at numerous competitions and records for both Czech and international labels. He teaches at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and is a highly respected artist with an exceptionally broad repertoire.

The program will be further enriched by a concert featuring a symphony orchestra and a special evening with a guest soloist on the French horn. A true celebration of organ music awaits. The 15th edition will be extraordinary in many respects. For the first time, the festival will feature the new and long-awaited cathedral organ. Additionally, visitors can look forward to a double portion of musical experiences, with a total of ten concert evenings.

Above the chapel is situated chamber guarding the crown jewels of Bohemian kings. The coronations of the kings of Bohemia were held in the Cathedral until 1836.  The first architect Matthias of Arras, who was called by Charles IV from Avignon, mediated the model of the French cathedral architecture. Matthias´s successor, genius Petr Parléř, gived to the cathedral and its sculptural decoration features of artistic excellence.

After the death of Charles IV the building was suspended and the cathedral remained a torso. The construction was not completed until the beginning of the 20th century, when the western part was completed and decorated by leading artists of the era (V. Sucharda, A. Mucha etc.). The St. Vitus Cathedral is an excellent example of Gothic architecture and masterpiece of art.