Festival Povaleč

Markéta Janoušková - violin

The podium belongs to the violin in its purest form. Renowned Czech violinist Markéta Janoušková, appreciated for her velvety tone, technical virtuosity and original dramaturgy, will present a program that connects the music of three centuries - from the Baroque to the present. Markéta, as a soloist and chamber player, performs on prestigious stages throughout Europe and her interpretations are captivating with their ability to combine deep musicality with expressive immediacy.

Program:
Johann Sebastian Bach - Aria (Goldberg variations)
Ursula Mamlok - From my Garden
Georg Philipp Telemann - Fantasia no. 7, TWV40:20
Jacques-Alphonse de Zeegant - L'Astre Bleu
Jiří Janoušek - Myjavian melodies, Folkloric melodies
Sergej Prokofjev: Sonata for violin solo D major op. 115

Markéta Janoušková (violin)

Czech violinist Markéta Janoušková is recognized for her artistic versatility as a soloist and chamber musician. She regularly performs at leading international festivals and prestigious venues including the Berliner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Konserthuset Stockholm, and Wigmore Hall, where she appears as a resident artist with the Smetana Trio.

An acclaimed recording artist, she has released the solo album L’Astre Bleu and participated in the complete recording of Miloslav Kabeláč’s violin works. Her collaborations include artists such as Josef Suk, Shlomo Mintz, Albrecht Mayer, and Charles Olivieri-Munroe.

A graduate of the Prague Conservatory, the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, the Chicago College of Performing Arts, and the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, she is also the founder and artistic director of the crossover project FolkloreClassic, connecting classical and folk music traditions.

Evil Nine from Brighton are among the iconic names of the British electronic scene. Since the late 90s, the duo of Tom Beaufoy and Pat Pardy have been blending breakbeat with electro, rock rawness, and bass energy. The Evils are the creators of hits like Restless and Crooked, which featured Aesop Rock. Their sets are intense, genre-spanning, and always built on a strong groove. They range from club euphoria to darker and dirtier moods, all the way to borderline rock bangers.

Irena Troupová / soprano, Jiřina Marešová / organ positive

A stellar matinee full of baroque music and improvisation.

Program:
H. Purcell: Music for a While
T. Merula: Su la cetra amorosa
H.Purcell: O Solitude!
C. Monteverdi: Quel sguardo sdegnosetto
G. Frescobaldi: Cosi mi disprezzate
H. Purcell: An Evening Hymn

Organ improvisation between pieces.

Music for a while… music for a while, music for pleasure, for kind consolation and encouragement, music that mourns and exults, music capable of expressing every emotion, positive and negative. It can sing anger and sorrow, joy and quiet composure. It resonates with notes composed by ancient masters and gives space for your own interpretation, finishing with ornaments and improvisation.
Let yourself be carried away by the music of Henry Purcell, Claudio Monteverdi, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Claudio Merula and others. Internationally renowned soprano Irena Troupová and leading Czech organist Jiřina Marešová will present baroque evergreens in a strictly stylish and improvisational guise, passacaglia, ciaccona, ground, and most importantly, a whole range of emotions.

Welcome to the magical world of baroque gems!

Irena Troupová
The leading Czech soprano Irena Troupová first gained international renown in the field of historically informed interpretation of early music. Since the 1990s, when she lived in Berlin, she has performed on stages throughout Europe, collaborating with T. Hengelbrock, H. Arman, J. Riffkin, the Orpheon ensemble, La Morra, etc., and in the Czech Republic with J. Tůma, B. M. Willi, the Ensemble Tourbillon, Musica Florea, and many others. She has gradually expanded her scope to include romantic and modern song and operatic work. She has performed in the cycles of the FOK, Czech Philharmonic and PKF with conductor J. Hrůša, and has repeatedly participated in the Prague Spring, Janáček May, Concentus Moraviae festivals, etc. She participated in the internationally awarded recording of B. Martinů's opera "Le jour de bonté" for the Arco Diva label, for which she also released a complete set of songs by Viktor Ullmann (Schwer ist's, das Schöne zu lassen), orchestral songs by Geraldina Muchová and a complete set of songs by Hans Winterberg. She enjoys experimenting with her voice and therefore also collaborates with ensembles for contemporary music (BCO with P. Šnajder, BERG Orchestra, Prague Modern, Ostravská banda, etc.) and with contemporary composers - M. Kopelent, J. Dušek, P. Koeszeghy, M. Štědroně, P. Kotík and many others. She also devotes herself to the legacy of interwar composers (Schulhoff, von Hannenheim, Herschkowitsch, Klein, Krása, etc.) in concerts at home (recitals at the Prague Spring, Eternal Hope, etc. festivals) and abroad (Bayreuth, Berlin, Munich, Vienna).
Irena Troupová currently teaches at JAMU in the Department of Organ and Historical Interpretation and is a sought-after lecturer at international early music courses.

Jiřina Marešová
She studied organ at the Prague Conservatory (prof. Josef Popelka) and at the Faculty of Music of the Academy of Music in Prague (doc. Jaroslav Tůma), and continued at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg with prof. Wolfgang Zerer. She received her doctoral degree from the Academy of Music. Jiřina is a recognized specialist in baroque music, historical instruments and organ improvisation – which earned her a significant award at the Schlägel competition in 2004, as the only female finalist. In 2006, she made it to the semi-finals of the Prague Spring competition.

She works as a teacher at the Academy of Performing Arts and the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, and is actively involved in teaching within the Czech Philharmonic. She performs in concerts at leading festivals (Smetana's Litomyšl, Český Krumlov) and in a number of other concert cycles, collaborating with Collegio Mariano, Ensemble Damian, Musica Florea and other ensembles. She records for Czech Radio and Czech Television.

She enriches her work with improvisational projects connecting music with visual arts, dance and literature (The Little Prince, The Temple Full of Flowers, Kafka's Metamorphosis, The Stations of the Cross, etc.).

The renowned Disco Scientist, known as Ventolin, was conceived in the mind of anthropologist David Doubek back in 2007. His high-energy show is brought to life by a diverse array of instruments, such as old samplers, analog synthesizers, and archaic drum machines. Ventolin is a lover of the primitive sound of Detroit techno, Italian disco, and an Indian disco style called “šrumbabumba” from the 1880s, played primarily by clapping one’s hands on a bald head.

foto: Michal Zahornacky

Blending the best of UK bass dance music in a pot with a sprinkling of Slavic salt. Big bass gon shake dat ass – when the big man’s behind the decks, the energy is undeniably contagious. Young Aesthete is the founder and curator of Bratislava's popular Jašenie party series, operating between Bratislava, Berlin and Prague. In his DJ sets, he fuses his own production and exclusive DJ edits, moving fluidly across UK garage, bass, dub and breakbeat sounds. His background as a percussionist in the Berlin–Slovak band Tolstoys strongly shapes his DJ approach, defined by dynamic mixing, rhythmic precision and a pronounced focus on percussion. He has supported artists such as Ahadadream, Sicaria, Badger, Eliza Rose and JAEL.

The five-piece band stands out for its intimate vocals, captivating lyrics, and colourful instrumentation, and isn’t afraid to blend genres. They’ve gained touring experience not only in Czech and Slovak clubs but also through regular performances abroad.
Following the EP Strange Shaped Flowers, where they combine influences of folk and Americana, comes the more electronic EP Silver Thing and last year’s debut album Tell Me When You Pass The Sun. On their new album, they aim to blend the various styles they have explored on previous recordings and capture the energy of their current lineup.

foto: František Javorský

Leoš Hort is a modular synthesizer performer and the founder of the Brno-based cassette label Bükko Tapes, which releases music by Eastern European bedroom producers. HRTL’s music has evolved from classical instruments to modular synths, shifting from post-witch-house toward repetitive rhythms with rich melodic and sonic elements, a shifting atmosphere, and playful structures. His live performances, just like his recordings, are improvised and 100% hardware. House with an ’80s vibe, fluorescent techno, or dark, bubbling beats. HRTL never plays the same thing twice.

Czech DnB legend Akira has been DJing since the late 1990s. He’s an integral part of Friday night at the Povaleč festival, and every year after his set, a crowd of fans (and fangirls) waits for him, eager to take a photo together. Akira’s range covers all styles of DnB, from smooth liquid funk to modern dancefloor sounds, techstep, and neurofunk. He also regularly plays bass music, UKG, and breaks.
"I ran to a tower where the church bells chime
I hoped that they would clear my mind
They left a ringing in my ear
But that drum's still beating loud and clear"

A man with a bizarre name and even more bizarre lyrics, who defies every expectation of how a rapper should behave, look, and speak. Originality and unpredictability that is MC Gey.
Jakub Rafael, a Czech rapper, poet, graphic designer, illustrator, and writer, rose to prominence with the group Actionday Crew and the label Ty Nikdy, and has won two Anděl awards for rap. His lyrics stand out for their vivid imagery, dark humor, and frequent use of double meanings and vulgarisms. They tackle controversial topics, include references to the hip-hop scene, and criticize small-town mentality, prejudice, and empty clichés.

vgtbl.pl, a hyperpop-jazz-punk duo from Poland, combines surreal visuals with a global post-internet sound. Their debut album Vegetables Worldwide is a chaotic musical blend. Brazilian funk, gabber, smooth jazz, and punk energy collide and spin into something juicy, unpredictable, and alive.