Four pianos on the stage of Dvořák Hall in Rudolfinum and a series of concert performances of the composition Crazy Nigger* by the American composer Julius Eastman as a part of the accompanying program to the exhibition Not Without Joy. The main performer is the award-winning pianist Ivo Kahánek, who prepared the performance with his students. Before the concert, you can join the guided tour of the exhibition with its curator and Galerie Rudolfinum director Petr Nedoma. Admission to the guided tour is free. Read more here.

Concert dates:

Saturday, November 20, 2021 at 7:30 pm, Dvořák Hall

Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 7:30 pm, Dvořák Hall

Saturday, February 12, 2022 at 7:30 pm, Dvořák Hall

Performers:

Eliška Tkadlčíková, piano

Anna Gaálová, piano

Pavol Praženica, piano

Ivo Kahánek, piano

Tickets:

350 CZK / 100 CZK (students)

Tickets can be purchased online here, in case of free capacity at the gallery box office in the Rudolfinum hall and at the box office of the Czech Philharmonic.

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The principal theme of the exhibition Not Without Joy is the issue of Blackness which is highly topical at present. Julius Eastman was an African-American gay composer who publicly addressed the issues of racial segregation and the position of African Americans in society. But he was also an outstanding singer, pianist and one of the radical composers. Attention has mostly been focused on three of his compositions from the end of the 1970s that have deliberately provocative titles: Crazy Nigger, Evil Nigger, and Gay Guerrilla The first is a minimalist composition for four pianos.

Concerts are organized by the Czech Philharmonic and Galerie Rudolfinum within the exhibition Not Without Joy.

Before visiting Rudolfinum, please read the currenthygienic rules. Participation in the concert and guided tour is only possible upon presentation of a lab confirmation stating you have recovered from covid-19 not older than 180 days on the day of the concert; a covid-19 vaccination certificate stating that you have had the last dose (second in the case of two-dose schemes and first in the case of one-dose schemes) at least 14 days ago; a covid-19 vaccination certificate stating that you have had the first dose of a two-dose scheme together with a negative RT-PCT test not older than 72 hours; for young people aged 12 to 18, a negative RT-PCR test not older than 72 hours. 

*This is the original title of the composer. Julius Eastman deliberately exposed the term as racist, drawing the attention of non-black people in particular to structural racism and verbal violence. We therefore decided to write out Eastman’s original title in the context of the performance of his works.

Photo: Julius Eastman composing, 1969. Photo by Donald W. Burkhardt