Příběh
"A forest will give you more than books. Science or teachers will never teach you as much as trees and rocks."
- St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Making premieres of new compositions, and fighting for new classical music is my long-term sense of life.
Throughout my life, I have founded and led several choirs that still exist today and bring pleasure to many people.
This is the biggest project in my life so far. I wanted it was not just an "ordinary" framework for new music but I wished it had a deep idea, a clear vision. This turned out to be the love of nature.
Bring the Forest to Life.
Forests are the lungs of our planet Earth; they have inspired us since ancient times and bring us peace of mind. Their pleasant "silence", greenery, the rustling of leaves, and the twittering of birds act like a balm to the soul. People have been looking up to nature as something eternal.
Thus, is nature really something eternal and for granted?
With this composition, I would like to give a voice to a forest, unite music and nature together. Simply, I would like to underline the great significance, beauty, and intelligence of this sacred place which is currently in constant danger, and is literally disappearing before in front of our eyes.
How did it all start?
I have been thinking intensively about an idea of a new ensemble for a long time. It's one of my biggest dreams.
I share love of music and nature with the soloist Michaela Špačková. We thought about how it could be combined, had endless intercontinental phone conversations, and played with different ideas. We wanted to create something new, original, and colorful for solo bassoon. And this is how the idea of a bassoon concerto arose.
One day, during our phone call between Cleveland and Berlin, she said, "Hey, Jiří, don't you want to dedicate that concert to forests?"
I rejoiced at hearing that; my long-term plans and everything merged together. I grew up in the Czech-Moravian Highlands region, and therefore I have a tight relationship with a forest. Writing a concert dedicated to a forest is a strong matter of my heart.
Description of the Composition:
The composition is new, original, colorful, connecting and free at the same time. A solo bassoon represents an individual and strong tree - the Mother - it excels by its timbre and expressive possibilities. Performed by Michaela, it sings and flows through the lines with the support of the ensemble, as well as trees are supported by their roots. Throughout the composition, there is harmony and understanding of individuals.
I see a certain metaphor of a healthy society in a healthy and diverse forest where the system of roots that are interconnected, and through which individual trees communicate, and support each other. I feel a great inspiration to express these relationships by musical means.
The composition will take 25-30 minutes.
At the end of the composition, a poem by Miloš Doležal For Dead Trees will appear.
How we are going to deal with the raised funds?
1st stage – 261,000 CZK
The funds will be used to rent the premises for rehearsals and recordings, release of a CD, shoot a video clip and organize the premiere of the Concert For a Forest.
2nd stage – 500,000 CZK
If we manage to raise more than the required amount of money, we would like to launch a new musical ensemble with this project, which would focus on presenting premieres of young authors, and also on collaboration with the world's leading young artists across all artistic disciplines.
"There in the forest, there in the forest, there a soul will be healed."
- Jaroslav Nečas from Písečný
stro.MY - ensemble composition
Solo bassoon: Michaela Špačková (www.michaelaspackova.com)
French Horn, Clarinet / Bass Clarinet, 3 Percussions, 2 Violins, 2 Violas, 2 Cellos, 2 Double Basses
Mixed choir (12 members)
Music author and conductor: Jiří Trtík (www.jiritrtik.com)
The video clip will be shot in collaboration with the award-winning film director Martin Páv (Kibera: The Story of a Slum, 2018), director of photography Petr Racek (Wolves on Borders, 2021), and the sound engineer Adam Bláha (Caught in the Net, 2020).
About the author:
Jiří Trtík (pronounced Yearshee Turteek) is a Czech composer, conductor, and educator. Jiří joined the faculty of the International Conservatory of Prague in 2020. He has received a number of commissions and performances from world-class performers and ensembles, such as members of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Grammy Award-winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Kühn Mixed Choir, the principal cellist of The Cleveland Orchestra Mark Kosower, and the associate principal bassoonist of The Cleveland Orchestra Barrick Stees. His works have been performed in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Latvia, United States, and Japan.
In 2020, Jiří has composed music for the movie Wolves on Borders (Martin Páv), which was premiered at the documentary movie festival Vision du Reel in Switzerland. Other movies that Jiří has scored are The Hunch (Nina Mikesková), Zelená Vdova (Luboš Kučera), Jdi dál (Martin Páv). He has participated in several international masterclasses (Vocal Espoo 2014 in Finland, International Composition Masterclass in Latvia in 2014).
As a conductor, he has conducted performances of Mozart’s Requiem, B. Martinů’s Opening of the Wells, as well as he premiered choral works by several young Czech composers. Jiří studied philosophy at Charles University. He writes a blog about music and organizes benefit concerts. Jiří Trtík is a recipient of 2nd prize (1st was not given) and Special Prize for The Best Czech Composition at the International Composition Competition Generace 2019 at the Janáček International Music Festival in Ostrava. (Moc se mi zde nezadají odstavce)
He also received first-prize at the Cleveland Composers Guild Fifth Annual Collegiate Composition Competition 2018, and won the WCSMS 2018 Promising Young Composers Competition. In 2018, Jiří Trtík was honored to receive the 2018 Donald Erb Prize in Composition. Jiří has earned his Master of Music at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has also studied composition and conducting at the Prague Conservatory.
Instagram: @trtini_music
Michaela Špačková:
An example of Jiří Trtík’s work: