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STRINGS OF HOPE is a collaborative project between Les Musicales de Baabdath and the Czech Republic. It is meant to spread positive vibes in a time when our dear Lebanon is going through one of the darkest periods of its history.

HOPE, so that culture and music continue to prevail despite the harsh circumstances hitting us all. HOPE, so that our struggling country rises again.

Brought to you by Les Musicales de Baabdath with the support of the Czech Embassy in Beirut – H.E. Mrs. Michaela Fronkova, STRINGS OF HOPE is a chamber music concert broadcast on Les Musicales de Baabdath Facebook page live from the the Czech city of Pilsen, located 90 KM away from Prague.

Vanda Sabakova (Harp), Jan Ryska (Cello) and Ludek Sabaka (Piano) are performing works of Czech composers from the classical, romantic and contemporary repertoire. The varied program ranges from solo pieces, to duets and trios, featuring works such as Smetana’s LA MOLDAU and Dvorak’s Silent Woods. The program also pays tribute to Beethoven as in 2020, we are celebrating the composer’s 250th Birth Anniversary.

Each one of us in his turn, can bring hope to thousands of Lebanese people currently living on the brink of poverty due to the collapse of the Lebanese economy. If you like this concert, please consider donating online directly to: Lebanese Food Bank, arcenciel, Sesobel, Our Lady of Hope Foundation, or any other endeavoring Lebanese NGO concerned with a local humanitarian cause.

The slightest contribution can make a difference.

Click here tor watch the live concert on our Facebook page.

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VANDA SABAKOVA | Harp
JAN RYSKA | Cello
LUDEK SABAKA | Piano

Live from the city of Pilsen in the Czech Republic
The New Theater Studio

Sound Engineer: Matous Pilny

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PROGRAM

JOHANN LADISLAU DUSSEK (1760 – 1812)
SONATA in E-flat Major Op. 36
for harp and piano
Allegro
Adagio espressione
Rondo. Allegretto

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770 – 1827)
7 VARIATIONS on ‘Bei Mannern, welche Liebe fuhlen’
Based on Mozart’s Die Zauberflote
for cello and piano

PAVEL TROJAN (b. 1956)
THE NEARBY LANDSCAPE
Reverie for harp solo

BOHUSLAV MARTINU (1890 – 1959)
VARIATONS ON A SLOVAKIAN THEME
for cello and piano

HANUS TRNECEK (1858 – 1914)
THE MOLDAU
Concert transcription for harp solo
after Bedrich Smetana’s symphonic poem

ANTONIN DVORAK (1841 – 1904)
SILENT WOODS
for cello and piano

PETR POPELKA (b. 1986)
FINALE
from the Czech Suite
for cello, harp and piano

Vanda Sabakova (Harp)

Vanda Sabakova comes from an artistic family. She studies harp from the age of five under the supervision of the solo-harpist of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonia and professor of conservatories in Ostrava, Brno and Pilsen, Ivana Švestková Dohnalová. She also consults her work with renowned soloists – in recent years she has participated in master classes of Petra van der Heide (RCO Amsterdam) and Marie-Pierre Langlamet (Berliner Philharmoniker).

Vanda has started her concert activity at an early age. She won the first prize in her category at the International Harp Competition in Novi Sad, Serbia and the title of absolute winter and the prize for the best performance of the compulsory composition in the Competition of Conservatoires of the Czech Republic. It is also essential to mention her participation in International Harp Days in Ostrava, concerts with members of Staatskapelle Dresden and Kammerorchester ohne Dirigenten Dresden, annual live broadcasts for Czech radio station Český Rozhlas or permanent cooperation with the Chamber Orchestra of Kutná Hora.

In October 2017 she performed as a soloist in Diettersdorf’s Concerto in A major at the Festival of Young European Artists in Lvov accompanied by the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra. In the summer of 2018 she had a concert tour in Japan, performing, among other compositions, a unique sonata by François Joseph Naderman with her father. As a result, she was awarded the Prize for Outstanding Artistic Performance for artists under 30 by the Mayor of the City of Pilsen, which she received as the youngest laureate in history.

Vanda plays instruments of the prestigious American company Lyon & Healy; her first harp was Ogden, then switched to Chicago 40 and now she owns Style 23 Bronze.

Jan Ryska (Cello)

Jan Ryska (1984) started his musical studies at the age of five. He graduated in cello performance majorcum laude from the Prague Conservatory, the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and at the Universität für Musik unddarstellende Kunst in Vienna. Since his childhood Jan Ryska has become a laureate of many international cello and chamber music competitions – among some of the recent achievements we could name the 1st price in the Brahms International Chamber Music Competition in Austria, the 1st and the special prices in the Pinerollo Chamber Music Competition in Italy (member of the WFIMC) or the 1st and Grand Prix of the Beethoven Competition.

His other activities include solo and chamber music concerts (with the Stratos Quartett) in different European countries as well as in Japan or USA and recordings for the Czech Radio.

Since January 2012 is Jan Ryska engaged by the Vienna State Opera and performs intensively with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in all major world venues and festivals with the most distinguished conductors. In 2016 and 2017 he served as a Solo-cellist of the Tonkünstler Orchestra, too.

Jan Ryska plays on a Francesco Barbieri cello made in Mantova, Italy, in 1740.

Ludek Sabaka (Piano)

Ludek Sabaka drew attention to himself already as a child. During his studies at the Prague Conservatory in the field of piano and composition, he won laureate awards in most of the major Czechoslovak competitions. At the Academy of Performing Arts he began to devote his time to chamber music, therefore his repertoire in this domain is extensive.

He performs on major world stages – Musikverein, Wiener Konzerthaus, Dresden Semperoper, Teatro Dal Verme Milano, Salamanca Hall Gifu, Muza Kawasaki Hall Tokyo, Cascade Hall Tokyo, Brick Hall Nagasaki, The Opera House of National Grand Theatre Beijing etc. He has been teaching at the Conservatory in Pilsen since 2003, and used to teach at the Prague Conservatory between 1989 and 2009. In September 2009, he co-founded a subsidiary Art School in Sázava, where he teaches from that point on.

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