Bulgarian musicologist Iliya Gramatikoff visited the Prague Spring Festival

What do you find interesting in Czech music?

Very interesting question. Czech music is an interesting topic, especially if you are trying to teach students music history and especially the history of 19th century music, because Czech music of this period is a very good example of how and what national identity was built. It was really very important in the history of the Czech nation to have its own music, because thanks to that you now have a really strong idea of who you are, what your national identity is, what your cultural heritage is. I definitely believe that to have a strong contemporary Czech music and to have this really strong national identity is really important and because of all these cultural differences you can feel the characteristic of Czech music even in an international context in the music of the 19th century.

I discovered Czech contemporary music and I found that there are a lot of a really great and skilled Czech composers who compose very well and they are big names on the international contemporary scene. Thanks to the Prague Spring Festival, whose programme is full of contemporary music and especially Czech contemporary music, I have discovered a lot of new musical things and I believe it is really important for Czech contemporary culture.

Which Czech composer is closest to your heart?

A few days ago, I heard a piece by Kryštof Mařatka at a concert and it was amazing. The composer used an amazing pallet of tones and all the orchestral approaches were full of great ideas. It was a really amazing piece and the orchestra's performance was really strong and impressive and actually in these days Kryštof Mařatka is my favourite contemporary Czech composer.

Are you for the first time in Czechia?

No, this is my fourth time in Czechia and especially my third time in Prague and I love this country and the city of Prague. Especially because of the cultural heritage in Czechia and specifically Prague is just an amazing and beautiful city full of amazing architecture, amazing cultural history and when you walk the streets in Prague and in different Czech cities, you feel like you are walking through history itself. You see beautiful architecture, beautiful buildings from different historical periods. And it's really amazing, and you can feel that in the atmosphere, how important art is for this country.

Which concert was the most memorable for you in Czechia so far?

This is a very difficult question, because the level of the Prague Spring Festival is really at the top professional level. Concert by concert I feel that the level is getting better and better. The concert that stands in my mind the most is now the concert of the Latvian organist Iveta Apkalna, who played in the Smetana Hall in the Municipal House. The programme of the concert was really well constructed dramaturgically thanks to really good ideas and connections between the pieces with a really strong sense of detail. The organ itself sounds amazing in this hall and the choice of register of the performer was really well skilled and sonically beautiful. It was a really musical and emotional experience, and it was a really special concert.

The interview was conducted by Matěj Kirov.