Opening Gala Concert - Music of Romanticism

The opening gala concert of the international music festival Olympus Musicus 2026 takes place in the Terezian Hall of Břevnov Monastery. The evening celebrates three 19th-century composers - Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.

The programme opens with Schumann's Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in A minor, op. 105 (Evgenia Epshtein, violin / Donaldas Račys, piano), followed by Brahms's Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, op. 78 "Regen" (Markéta Fraňková, violin / Julia Sadaunikaitė, piano). After the interval comes Brahms's Trio in E-flat major, op. 40 (Roman Fedchuk, violin / Iakov Zats, viola / Vsevolod Dvorkin, piano). The concert culminates in Mendelssohn's Octet in E-flat major, op. 20 performed by eight soloists.

Violist Lyda Chen Argerich (Switzerland), daughter of pianist Martha Argerich, also performs in the final Octet. Complete Octet lineup: violins - Roman Fedchuk, Evgenia Epshtein, Jinhee Joung, Markéta Fraňková; violas - Iakov Zats, Lyda Chen Argerich; cellos - Denis Severin (Switzerland), Ramutė Kalnėnaitė (Lithuania).