Essential Sixth-Tones II

Visionary composer Alois Hába commissioned a sixth-tone harmonium for his opera Come Thy Kingdom (1939-42). The instrument premiered in Ostrava in 2018 at the NODO festival, marking its first public performance. Pianist Miroslav Beinhauer learned to play it. The historic August Förster harmonium sparked great interest among composers and audiences alike and began to travel.

The story of this unique microinterval instrument from the 1930s continues: with support from the Czech Ministry of Culture, a new instrument was built in Martin Poláček's workshop - a copy of Hába's sixth-tone harmonium. The world-unique original from the Czech Museum of Music in Prague and Miroslav Beinhauer's playing inspired dozens of composers to write new works. The inauguration of the new instrument takes place at two concerts in Prague on November 5 and 12, 2026.

Performers: Miroslav Beinhauer (sixth-tone harmonium), Vojtěch Semerád (tenor), Ostravská banda, Petr Kotík (conductor), Bruno Ferrandis (conductor).

Program: Alois Hába: III. Adagio, op. 37 (1928) / Marc Sabat: Fleeting flight sleeping woke (2021, rev. 2026) / Klaus Lang: QVIS EST (2021, rev. 2026) / Ian Mikyska: Out (2025) / Miya Masaoka: The Mercurial Flow of Energy (2025) / Martin Smolka: Tři zpěvy na Reynka (2026)