Smetana's Jabkenice 2026 – Music Festival for Deaf and Hearing Audiences

Name: Smetana's Jabkenice 2026 – Music Festival for Deaf and Hearing Audiences
Start: 2026-06-06T12:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-06-06T23:00:00+02:00
Location: Památník Bedřicha Smetany

took place · 6 Jun 2026

Památník Bedřicha Smetany, Jabkenice

festival culture outdoor

Next show

Journey Through Bedřich Smetana's Family Tree

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 · Národní muzeum, Prague →

Description was written before the event

The 105th edition of the festival pays tribute to the renowned composer in the place where he spent the final years of his life. The festival is unique for its inclusive programme inspired by Bedřich Smetana's outstanding works created during his deafness.

About the venue: Památník Bedřicha Smetany

The Bedřich Smetana Memorial in Jabkenice is housed in a hunting château where the composer spent the last years of his life (1875–1884). The permanent exhibition covers his life, work, and the period of deafness during which he composed many of his most celebrated pieces. Jabkenice is thus a unique site connected with the founder of Czech national music.

Památník Bedřicha Smetany, Jabkenice Get directions

About: Bedřich Smetana

Smetana's music sits at the heart of Czech cultural identity - Vltava opens the Prague Spring festival every year on the anniversary of his death, and The Bartered Bride holds the record as the most-performed opera at Prague's National Theatre. He wrote the bulk of his greatest works after losing his hearing at fifty.

the most frequently performed opera of the National Theatre in Prague (The Bartered Bride)

133

number of performances of Má vlast at the Prague Spring (including repeats, as of 2025)

6.9M

viewership of the stream of three poems from Má vlast at the conclusion of the Year of Czech Music 2024

BBC Music Magazine Orchestral Award 2025 (recording of Má vlast, Czech Philharmonic / Bychkov)

What's new

2025-05
The Czech Philharmonic under the direction of Semyon Bychkov opened the 80th season of Prague Spring (May 12, 2025) with a traditional performance of Má vlast - Bychkov returned to the festival after 27 years.
2025-04
The recording of Má vlast (Czech Philharmonic / Bychkov, Pentatone) won the prestigious BBC Music Magazine Orchestral Award 2025, with the winner determined by public vote.
2024
The Year of Czech Music 2024 commemorated the 200th anniversary of Smetana's birth with extensive celebrations at home and abroad, including three concerts by the Czech Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Tracks

Má vlast (cyklus 6 symfonických básní)a masterpiece orchestral work, annually opens the Prague Spring; composed 1874-1879 in complete deafness

Vltavathe second poem from My Homeland, Smetana's most famous orchestral work in the world

Prodaná nevěstaa comic opera (1866-1870), the most frequently performed opera of the National Theatre in Prague

Smyčcový kvartet č. 1 e moll "Z mého života"an autobiographical chamber work (1876), unique in its personal program

Libušea festive opera, opened the National Theatre in Prague in 1881; fanfares sound upon the president's arrival

Recent shows

Aug 7, 1847 Saale zur böhmischen Krone, Cheb

Smetana's Jabkenice 2026 – Music Festival for Deaf and Hearing Audiences

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