Prague Spring - The International Music Festival in the capital of Bohemia

Fly mid-morning from London Heathrow to Prague (British Airways). After settling in to the hotel there is a private visit to the Obecní dům (‘Municipal House’) to see the glorious suite of assembly rooms created 1905–12, a unique and very Czech mélange of murals and ornament.

Walk through the Old Town (Staré Město), a dense maze of streets and squares with buildings of all ages and an exceptionally lovely main square. The 13th-century Convent of St Agnes houses one of the world’s greatest collections of medieval painting. Some free time before an early dinner. Evening concert at the Obecní dům, Smetana Hall: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden (conductor): Mahler, Symphony No. 6 in A minor.

Drive up to Prague Castle, the extensive hilltop complex, long-time residence of the Dukes and Kings of Bohemia and now the seat of the President. The Old Royal Palace, within it the largest stone hall in Europe with its extraordinary late-Gothic vaulting, and the Cathedral of St Vitus, a pioneering monument of High Gothic, richly embellished with chapels, tombs, altarpieces and stained glass. The Lobkowicz Palace contains a fascinating private collection of painting, decorative arts and music, including hand-annotated manuscripts by Mozart and Beethoven. The 7th Prince Lobkowicz was a life-long patron of Beethoven who dedicated his 3rd (Eroica), 5th and 6th (Pastorale) Symphonies to the Prince.

Walk across the 14th-century Charles Bridge, the greatest such structure in Europe, wonderfully adorned with sculptures. In the ‘Lesser Town’ (Malá Strana), visit St Nicholas, one of the finest Baroque churches in Central Europe and the Czech Museum of Music, which houses an interesting collection of musical instruments. After lunch, walk through a sequence of delightful gardens on the south slope of Prague Castle and Wallenstein Palace (a 1630s residence, now the Senate). Evening concert at the Rudolfinum, Dvořák Hall: Kammerakademie Potsdam, Antonello Manacorda (conductor), Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano): Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15; Toshio Hosokawa, ‘In the Forest’; Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67.

The day begins with a private guided tour of the Estates Theatre, where Don Giovanni had its première in 1787. Continue to the ‘New Town’ (Nové Město), in and around Wenceslas Square, threading through a succession of arcades, and viewing outstanding turn-of-the-century architecture and early modernist masterpieces. The Neo-Renaissance National Museum currently houses the special exhibition My Country, celebrating Bedřich Smetana and his symphonic cycle, Má vlast, for the 200th anniversary of his birth. Early dinner before an evening concert at the Rudolfinum, Dvořák Hall: Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali (conductor), Jan Lisiecki (piano): Smetana, ‘Hakon Jarl’, Op. 16; Chopin, Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11; Bartók, Concerto for Orchestra.

Morning lecture followed by a visit to the fortress of Vyšehrad, rising high above the river and enclosing a cemetery with the graves of many great Czechs – including Dvořák and Smetana. Return to the New Town for lunch before some free time prior to an afternoon concert at the Convent of St Agnes: Ivan Ženatý (violin), Martin Kasík (piano): Rachmaninoff, Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor, Op. 19 (arr. Jascha Heifetz, Ivan Ženatý); Martinů, Sonata for Violin and Piano, H 120. Light sandwich supper at the hotel before an evening concert at the Rudolfinum, Dvořák Hall: Concentus Musicus Wien, Tomáš Netopil (conductor), Czech Ensemble Baroque Choir: Mozart, ‘Exsultate, jubilate’, KV 165; František Xaver Richter, Sinfonia con fuga in G minor; Mozart, ‘Requiem’ in D minor, KV 626.

Strahov Monastery has commanding views over Prague and two magnificent library halls, which we enter by special arrangement. Then walk down the hill, passing the formidable bulk of the Černín Palace and the delightful façade of the Loreto Church. The flight returns to London Heathrow midafternoon.

A number of the visits are by special arrangement. It is possible the order of visits may vary from the description above.