A Festival of Music in Prague, 13–19 June 2018 by Martin Randall Travel

A Festival of Music in

PRAGUE 13–19 June 2018

Prague Symphony Orchestra Classical Opera – The Mozartists | Ian Page director & Ana Maria Labin soprano The Sixteen | Harry Christophers conductor Lucie Špičková mezzo-soprano & Lada Valešová piano The Wihan Quartet and & Martin Kasík piano Collegium 1704 | Václav Luks conductor Collegium Marianum Bennewitz Quartet

Martin Randall Travel aims to provide the best planned, best led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours and events available, in Britain, continental Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, India, China, Japan and the Americas. Each year there are about 250 expert-led tours for small groups (usually 10 to 20 participants), five to six all-inclusive music festivals, such as A Festival of Music in Prague, up to eight music and history weekends and about 100 study days in London. For thirty years the company has led the field through incessant innovation and improvement, and set the benchmarks for itinerary planning, operational systems and service standards. MRT is Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading specialist in cultural travel and one of the most respected tour operators in the world.

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Illustration: Prague, Old Town Square, lithograph by Samuel Prout 1839. Front cover: Church of Our Lady Before TĂ˝n, 20th-century etching. Right: Cathedral of St Vitus, watercolour by B. Granville Baker, publ. 1923.

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A Festival of Music in

PRAGUE 13–19 June 2018

Ten private concerts of music from the Czech lands in magnificent and appropriate historic buildings. Music from Renaissance to 20th century, with plenty of Baroque, and Smetana and Dvořák well represented. Musicians of the highest calibre, from the Czech Republic and Britain. Professor Jan Smaczny gives talks on the music, and Professor Tim Blanning on history. Choose from a range of 4-star and 5-star hotels in the centre of the city. Free time to explore Prague, one of the most picturesque cities of Europe, and optional walks with specialists. First, the music: ten concerts, some of the region’s finest players, composers from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries – nearly all Czech. The range and brilliance of Bohemian music through the ages will come to many as a revelation and will be one of the more thrilling aspects of this festival. Next, the setting: some of the finest halls and churches in Prague, many contemporary with the music to be heard in them. The juxtaposition makes it as much a festival of architecture as of music, with each art enhancing and complementing the other. And then there is the city: the most enchanting, heartstoppingly beautiful place in Central Europe (some say the world). Impossibly picturesque vistas with magnificent Baroque palaces jostling with art nouveau shop fronts, soaring Gothic churches, sleek modernist masterpieces, secretive alleys, stepped streets and glorious squares. A festival of music, but also much more. Each ingredient feeds into a whole much greater than the sum of the parts.

The concerts are planned to balance and illuminate each other, talks and lectures inform and stimulate, guided walks and excursions enlarge the understanding of Bohemian history and art. Receptions and dinners draw the audience of c. 180 together so that the event comes to resemble an extended house party rather than a bare sequence of concerts. Admission to all but one of the concerts is limited to those who take a package which includes all ten concerts, hotels, flights, coaches, meals and talks. The intimate size of many of the venues leads to an informality and intimacy of musical communication which engenders a rare intensity of artistic experience – appreciated by the musicians as much as by the audience. If you are uneasy with group arrangements, just turn up to the concerts – there is no obligation to participate further. There will be, however, the option of having all dinners included and a range of guided walks and excursions from which to choose.

Contents The Programme.............................................................. 4–8

Travelling to and from Prague....................................... 11

The Speakers.........................................................................9

Accommodation & Prices.........................................12–13

More about the festival.................................................... 10

Pre-festival tours.........................................................14–16

The festival package | Optional extras Optional walks and visits

Treasures of Moravia | Walking in Southern Bohemia

Booking form; booking details & conditions........17–19

A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

The Programme Quartets and a Quintet: Myslivecek, Koželuch, Dvorák ˇ ˇ The Wihan Quartet Brevnov Monastery, Theresa Hall ˇ Josef Mysliveček and Leopold Koželuch, both well known to Mozart, were among the most popular late eighteenthcentury composers in Italy and Vienna respectively. Both composers’ instrumental music is unfailingly captivating combining thematic elegance with a sophisticated use of instruments. Composed during his first summer in the United States, Dvořák’s Op.97 string quintet shares the captivating spontaneity of the ‘American Quartet’ and easily matches its ravishing melodies and rhythmic excitement. The Wihan Quartet has been described by International Record Review as ‘one of the best quartets in the world today.’ The Quartet celebrated 30 years since its formation in 2015 and over the years it has developed an outstanding reputation for the interpretation of its native Czech heritage, and of the many Classical, Romantic and modern masterpieces of the string quartet repertoire. Located in the outskirts of Prague, Břevnovský Klášter (Břevnov Monastery) was one of the oldest and richest Benedictine monasteries in Bohemia. Most of the buildings date to the 1720s and are the work of the leading Baroque architect of the time, Kristof Dienzenhofer. Still a functioning monastery, the interiors are not generally accessible, though the recently restored Theresa Hall is occasionally used for concerts.

Renaissance Polyphony: Bohemians and Byrd The Sixteen | Harry Christophers conductor Church of Our Lady Before Týn The reign of Rudolf II as Holy Roman Emperor may have been politically disastrous, but it was one of the most culturally spectacular of the age. Not only did Rudolf attract artists, philosophers, astrologists and alchemists to Prague, some of the finest composers of the day worked at his court, among them Philippe de Monte and Jakob Handl. The Sixteen, unrivalled in this repertoire, perform key works by de Monte and Handl alongside music by their great English contemporary, William Byrd. In addition there is the chance to hear the fascinating and complex polyphony of the Bohemian noble Kryštof Harant who joined the Protestant cause at the Battle of the White Mountain in 1620 and as a result lost his head a year later. The Sixteen is recognised as one of the world’s greatest ensembles and a total commitment to the music it performs is its greatest distinction. Drawn from the passions of founder and conductor Harry Christophers are a special reputation for performing early English polyphony, bringing fresh insights into Baroque and early Classical music and a diversity of 20th- and 21st-century music.

Illustrations. Left: Prague, Church of St Nicholas, early 20th-century etching by E. Wänke. Right: Lesser Town, etching c. 1930. Photographs, right – top to bottom: Collegium 1704 ©Jiri Sláma; The Sixteen ©Arnaud Stephenson; Lucie Špicková; The Wihan Quartet.

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A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

Prague has no more distinctive sight than the cluster of spires and spirelets and gilded baubles which rise above the Old Town Square. These belong to Our Lady before Týn, one of the great Gothic churches of Prague, though its lofty whitewashed interior is enlivened with black and gold Baroque altarpieces. It became a leading Hussite (Protestant) church until the victory of the Catholics in 1620.

ˇ Songs by Dvorák Lucie Špicková mezzo-soprano ˇ Lada Valešová piano Schebek Palace

Born in Pilsen in the Czech Republic, Lada Valešová studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under the inspirational guidance of James Gibb. She has featured on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune, BBC 3 Breakfast, Classic FM, Radio New Zealand, Czech Radio Vltava and RTÉ Radio 1 Arts Show, Ireland. Lada is a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. Behind a formidable Renaissance Revival sandstone facade, in a dark and otherwise undistinguished side street, lies one of Prague’s hidden treasures. The mansion commissioned by railway magnate Jan Schebek in 1870 contains sumptuous interiors of marble, frescoes and fine joinery – which are still not generally accessible. The drawing room can seat only half the audience so the recital is repeated.

Song was key in the development of Czech music. From the start of his career Dvořák was a song composer producing cycles such as the Gypsy Songs and the moving Biblical Songs that have enchanted audiences all over the world. This recital places one of Dvořák’s favourite sets of songs alongside a full range of lyrical gems from Smetana to Martinů. Anglo-Czech mezzo-soprano Lucie Špičková was educated at the Purcell School of Music, Oriel College, Oxford and the Royal Academy of Music, London. A keen recitalist and oratorio singer, Lucie has performed at Wigmore Hall and other prestigious venues across Europe. On the operatic platform, she has appeared regularly with the Glyndebourne Opera Festival. Future engagements include Flosshilde (Das Rheingold) with the LPO under Vladimir Jurowski.

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A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

The Programme, continued Zelenka’s Missa Omnium Sanctorum

ˇ ˇ String Quartets: Janácek, Smetana, Dvorák

Collegium 1704 | Václav Luks conductor

Bennewitz Quartet

Church of St James the Greater

Convent of St Agnes of Bohemia

Born in rural Bohemia, Jan Dismas Zelenka spent most of his working life at the catholic court of Dresden. In his day, his music, characterized by vivacity, melodic charm and rich textures, was much admired by J.S. Bach and Telemann. His Missa Omnium Sanctorum (Mass of All Saints) is a late work in which attractive solo numbers are set beside monumental choruses.

The highly personal nature of the Czech string quartet in the late Romantic era and early twentieth century contributes a rich strand to the chamber repertoire. The tradition goes back to Smetana’s highly autobiographical quartet, From My Life, which charts the highs of his career and the tragedy of deafness, and carries through to the passionate, almost operatic involvement found in Janáček’s two string quartets composed when he was deeply in love with a woman nearly forty years his junior. The concert concludes with Dvořák’s greatest quartet, op.106, which includes his most deeplyfelt slow movement and a gloriously joyful finale.

Collegium 1704 was founded by harpsichordist and conductor Václav Luks in 2005. The ensemble is well-known for their performances of the key pieces of Baroque repertoire, and for promoting works of Czech masters such as Jan Dismas Zelenka and Josef Mysliveček. The ensemble has collaborated with the likes of Magdalena Kožená, Vivica Genaux and Bejun Mehta, and has been nominated for The International Opera Awards and The Gramophone Awards. Many churches in Prague are Gothic in architecture but Baroque in decoration, encrustation with altars and elaborate furnishings being standard after the triumph of Catholicism in 1620. St James stands out as the most magnificent of these hybrids, second only to the cathedral in length and surpassed only by St Nicholas Lesser Town (where concerts are no longer permitted) for richness of Baroquery.

The Bennewitz Quartet was established in 1998. It entered the international music scene after winning two major String Quartet competitions, in Ósaka in 2005 and Reggio Emilia in 2008. As a recent resident ensemble of the Czech Philharmonic, the Quartet actively promotes Czech repertoire worldwide. This current season will bring them to Canada, Japan, Israel, the United States and to various European stages. Founded in 1233, the Convent of St Agnes is one of the most intriguing and attractive mediaeval buildings in Prague. Accommodating two Franciscan communities, nuns and friars, there is a complex arrangement of adjacent chapels, one of which, roofless since dissolution in 1792, was converted in the 1980s into a concert hall. Also housed in the complex is one of the finest collections of Gothic painting in the world.

Mozart’s Czech Mates Classical Opera – The Mozartists | Ian Page director Ana Maria Labin soprano Žofín Palace This programme begins and ends with amazingly vital and passionate symphonies by Vaňhal and Koželůh – why aren’t they standard repertoire? – and in between presents dazzling arias by Gluck, Mysliveček, Jiří Benda and Mozart himself. Mozart’s music had some of its most enthusiastic audiences in Prague, and the composer visited the city five times in the last five years of his life. But he didn’t have to travel to Bohemia to meet highly-talented performers and composers from the kingdom: he constantly came across them wherever he went in Europe, even when at home in Salzburg. Prague had lost its royal court to Vienna, so many local musicians were forced to seek employment elsewhere.

‘Many musical memories that will last forever. Stunning performances.’ – MRT festival participant.

Illustration, right: Prague, Charles Bridge, Lesser Town and Castle, lithograph c. 1860. Photographs, left (top to bottom): Classical Opera ©Benjamin Ealovega; Ian Page ©Benjamin Ealovega; Ana Maria Labin. Opposite: Bennewitz Quartet ©Kamil Ghais.

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A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

When as a boy Mozart was trying to make his name as an opera composer in Italy, he was befriended by one of the dominant operatic figures of the day, Josef Mysliveček. Known simply as ‘Il Boemo’, the brilliance and melodious qualities of Mysliveček’s music captivated Italian audiences. In Germany, Mozart was bowled over by the melodramas of Jiří Benda with their bold combination of spoken drama and evocative music. In Vienna, he found Czech composers had a hold over many of the musical establishments of the Empire’s capital. Christoph Willibald Gluck was one of the most venerable figures of the day, but Leopold Koželůh and Jan Křtitel Vaňhal were among the most prominent in the city’s musical life. Established in 1997, Classical Opera – or The Mozartists, as they appear when the programme is not a full opera – is one of the leading exponents of the music of Mozart and his contemporaries. Under the direction of founder and conductor Ian Page, they regularly present benchmark performances of operas and orchestral works in some of London’s most prestigious venues and, increasingly, abroad. They attract extensive critical and public

acclaim for the high quality of their performances on CD and in the concert hall, for intelligent and imaginative programming, and for their ability to discover and nurture world-class young singers. Sited on an island in the River Vltava, Palac Žofín (Žofín Palace) opened in 1837 as a cultural and entertainment centre and concert hall, a role which it continues to this day. Refurbished in the 1880s, it is one of the most enjoyable of Prague’s Renaissance Revival buildings, though few visitors get to see it. Antonín Dvořák held his first concert here in 1878 and Berlioz, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Wagner made appearances here.

Music from Terezín Bennewitz Quartet Spanish Synagogue Often characterized as ‘the lost generation’ of Terezín, the composers who spent time in this so-called ‘Paradise ghetto’ and died in Auschwitz were among the most talented Czechoslovak musicians of the inter-war years. Haas studied with Janáček and Ullmann with Schoenberg, and while both composers’ music show aspects of modish modernism, it is tempered by abundant humanity occasionally inflected with Czech folksong. Hans Krása was perhaps the most fascinating of the Terezín composers; a true ‘Bohemian’, his music manages to be both provocative and winning. Although Schulhoff was not among the Terezín composers, he was a victim of Nazism, dying in the Wülzburg concentration camp. A child prodigy, whose abilities impressed no less an authority than Dvořák, Schulhoff ’s music, with influences ranging from Debussy to Janáček, Czech folksong to jazz, is always captivating. The Spanish Synagogue, dating to 1868, derives its epithet from its interior decoration, whose source was the Alhambra in Granada. Elaborate floral and geometrical motifs, multi-coloured and gilded, flat and low relief, cover practically every surface, and the glazing contributes to the effect of gently glowing magnificence which has been further enhanced by recent restoration. book online at www.martinrandall.com

A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

The Programme, continued The winner of several domestic and international contests, and the recipient of a number of prestigious awards, Martin Kasík has worked regularly with the Czech Philharmonic and the Prague Symphony Orchestra. In 2008, he was appointed President of the Chopin Festival in Mariánské Lázně and he also teaches at the Prague Conservatory and at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Obecní dům is literally Municipal House, but Assembly Rooms would be a more informative translation as it consists of a collection of halls for meetings, concerts and leisure. The Sladkovský Hall is one of the most beautiful. Begun in 1905, Obecní dům is one of the greatest manifestations of Art Nouveau arts in Europe, and many Czech designers and artists worked on it. It was finally completed in 1914.

Smetana’s ‘My Country’ Czech High Baroque: Jiránek, Reichenauer, Brentner

Prague Symphony Orchestra

Collegium Marianum | Jana Semerádová director

The six symphonic poems of Smetana’s Má vlast (My Country) comprise a cornerstone of the Czech orchestral repertoire. Opening with a prophecy of the greatness and tragedy of the Czech nation in Vyšehrad, the castle set high above the river Vltava, it concludes with the ultimate triumph of the Czech nation represented by Blaník, the mountain in south Bohemia from which the warriors of Czech history slumber waiting to ride forth to defend the nation in its time of greatest need. Set between the mythic sweep of Vyšehrad and Blaník is music of stirring passion in Šárka, meltingly beautiful evocations of the Czech countryside in Vltava and From Bohemia’s Wood and Fields, and abundant gaiety in the dance sections of this profound celebration of all that is Czech.

Mirror Chapel, Klementinum This concert is a celebration of the Czech ‘High Baroque’ featuring three composers whose work is an intoxicating mix of instrumental virtuosity and enchanting melody. All three were clearly influenced by Vivaldi and Jiránek almost certainly studied with him in Venice. In all these works, the fluency of the Italian master’s style is apparent, but often with a Czech twist, particularly in the case of Brentner; not only popular in Prague, his music, thanks to Jesuit missionaries, reached as far as South America. The Prague ensemble Collegium Marianum, under the direction of leader Jana Semerádová focuses on presenting composers who were born or were active in Central Europe in the Baroque era. The ensemble has collaborated with renowned European conductors, soloists, directors and choreographers and has also produced some highly original projects, such as Cavalli’s opera Calisto or Handel’s Acis and Galatea staged with marionettes. It regularly performs at music festivals and has made seven recordings. The Chapel of the Annunciation is one of several churches embedded within the Klementinum, the rambling complex at the heart of the Old Town built by Jesuits and now occupied by the Charles University. Dating to the 1720s, the interior is deliciously decorated with stucco and scagliola in shades of pink and studded with little mirrors.

Chamber Music: Janácek, Smetana, Dvorák ˇ ˇ Wihan Quartet | Martin Kasík piano º Obecní dum (Municipal House), Sladkovský Hall

For their second appearance at this festival, the Wihan Quartet present a programme of classics of the Czech chamber repertoire. Janáček’s intense evocation of Tolstoy’s dramatic novella The Kreutzer Sonata and Smetana’s concentrated and moving second string quartet are balanced by Dvořák’s most radiant chamber work, the piano quintet in A major. 8

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º Obecní dum (Municipal House), Smetana Hall

The Prague Symphony Orchestra was founded in the autumn of 1934 by the conductor Rudolf Pekárek. He defined the new ensemble’s fields of activity with the words Film-Opera-Koncert, and as such the abbreviation FOK became part of the orchestra’s title. They achieved fame by recording music for the majority of Czech films in the 1930s and performing regularly in live broadcasts on the Czechoslovak Radio. The orchestra has performed in nearly every country in Europe as well as in Japan and elsewhere in Asia, the USA, South America and the Middle East. We shall be privileged to hear Má vlast played in the hall in the Obecní dům which is dedicated to Bedřich Smetana. Dozens of designers, sculptors and painters contributed to this building, which is infused with the spirit of national revival as much as the piece itself. Ladislav Šaloun, the leading Art Nouveau sculptor of the Czech lands, is the author of personifications of scenes which inspired the music. Given the large capacity of this hall (1200), the audience will be augmented by selling tickets locally.

Above left: Collegium Marianum ©Petra Hajska. Opposite page: Old Town, St Nicholas, etching by J. Vondrous 1912.

A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

The Speakers Professor Jan Smaczny is Emeritus Professor of Music at Queen’s University, Belfast, and a well-known authority on Czech music. An author, broadcaster and journalist, he has published books on the Prague Provisional Theatre, Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, Music in 19th-century Ireland and Bach’s B-minor Mass. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford, has studied at the Charles University in Prague and has worked extensively in university education. Professor Tim Blanning is Emeritus Professor of Modern European History at the University of Cambridge, Fellow of Sidney Sussex College and Fellow of the British Academy. Among his many books are a study of Emperor Joseph II, the awardwinning The Culture of Power & the Power of Culture, the best-selling The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648–1815, and the much-translated The Triumph of Music in the Modern World and The Romantic Revolution. His most recent book is Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, which was awarded the prestigious British Academy Medal 2016.

The concerts Exclusive access. The concerts are private, being planned, promoted and administered by Martin Randall Travel exclusively for an audience of no more than 200 who have taken the full festival package. (Tickets to the final orchestral concert will also be sold locally to improve the acoustics and appearance of the Smetana Hall). Seating. Specific seats are not reserved. You sit where you want.  Comfort. Seats in some venues are church pews; you may want to consider bringing a cushion. Concert times. One of the venues is too small to accommodate all participants so this concert is repeated. Changes. Musicians fall ill, venues close for repair, airlines alter schedules: there are many possible unpredictable circumstances which could necessitate changes to the programme. We ask you to be understanding should they occur.

‘When I think of all the planning that must have gone into this I am amazed; delighted with the thought shown in every detail.’ – MRT festival participant. ‘Absolutely wonderful. Lovely settings. The musicians were top-notch’. – MRT festival participant. This brochure was compiled and designed in house. The text was written and edited chiefly by Martin Randall and Francesca Khan with assistance from Lizzie Watson. It was sent to print on the 28th April 2017.

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A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

More about the festival

The festival package Access to all but one of the concerts is exclusive to those who take the festival package, the price for which includes: Ten concerts in outstanding historic buildings. Talks by experts on the music and history of Bohemia. Hotel accommodation for six nights. Three dinners with drinks, all breakfasts, interval drinks. Flights between Heathrow and Prague (you may opt out of these). Coach travel for airport transfers and a couple of concerts. All tips, taxes and obligatory charges. A team of festival staff, British and Czech, to facilitate the smooth running of the event. A comprehensive programme book.

Optional extras In addition, there are extra services which can be booked: The option of arriving a day early. See page 12 and opposite. A package of an extra two or three dinners. Price £140 or £210 per person including wine and gratuity – please request on the booking form. Pre-festival tours. There are two to choose from: Treasures of Moravia and Walking in Southern Bohemia. See pages 14–16 for details. A range of visits and short walks led by art historians and appropriate experts.

Illustrations. Above: Prague, wood engraving c. 1880. Right: Prague, watercolour by B. Granville Baker, publ. 1923. Opposite page: Church of Our Lady Before Týn, wood engraving c. 1880.

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Optional walks and visits Participants will be able to choose from a selection of walks and visits, all of which will be led by one of our lecturers with a deep knowledge of the city. Full information about these will be sent to all those booked at a later stage. Lecturers already confirmed include: Dr Jana Gajdošová. Art historian with a particular interest in the Middle Ages in Central Europe. Slovakian by birth, she studied in the USA and Britain – the Courtauld Institute of Art and Birkbeck College, both University of London. Her PhD is on the Charles Bridge and the rebuilding of Prague in the 14th century. She has lectured at the University of Cambridge and at Christie’s Education and is working on her first book, Bridging Space and Time. Dr Jarl Kremeier. Art historian specialising in 17th- to 19th-century architecture and decorative arts. He teaches Art History at the Berlin College of Acting and the Freie Universität, department of continuing education. He studied at the Universities of Würzburg, Berlin and London (Courtauld Institute) and is author of a book on the Würzburg Residenz and of articles on Baroque architecture and architectural theory.

A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

Travelling to and from Prague Flights from London Heathrow to Prague are included in the price of the festival. You can choose to join one of these or make your own flight arrangements (in which case there is a reduction in the price – see below).

Festival flights Arrive 12th June (a day early), leave 19th Option 1 12th June: depart Heathrow 09.50, arrive Prague 12.55 (BA 862). 19th June: depart Prague 11.20, arrive Heathrow 12.30 (BA 855). Option 2 12th June: depart Heathrow 13.25, arrive Prague 16.30 (BA 860). 19th June: depart Prague 13.40, arrive Heathrow 14.50 (BA 863).

Arrive 13th June, leave 19th Option 3 13th June: depart Heathrow 09.50, arrive Prague 12.55 (BA 862). 19th June: depart Prague 11.20, arrive Heathrow 12.30 (BA 855). Option 4 13th June: depart Heathrow 13.25, arrive Prague 16.30 (BA 860). 19th June: depart Prague 13.40, arrive Heathrow 14.50 (BA 863).

Regional airports We are happy to quote for connecting flights from regional airports. Please request this on the booking form.

The no-flights option There is a reduction of £210 for the package without flights. Please tick Option 5: no flights on the booking form. Should you decide to join the festival at Prague Airport at a time which coincides with one of our flight arrivals, you are welcome to join a coach transfer to your hotel. Otherwise you would have to make your own way to your hotel.

Easyjet Easyjet flies from London Gatwick to Prague. As we are not able to make a group booking with them, we suggest that you choose the ‘No flights’ option and make the booking yourself. We will provide coach transfers between the airport and the following flights: 13th June: depart Gatwick 08.55, arrive Prague 11.55 (EZY 8993). 19th June: depart Prague 12.25, arrive Gatwick 13.35 (EZY 8994).

Arrive a day early Please contact us if you would like to arrive in Prague a day before the festival starts (12th June). The price will depend on your chosen hotel and room category – see pages 12–13 – and includes a choice of two flights from London Heathrow with British Airways, and a transfer to your hotel.

Fitness We must stress that it is essential to cope with the walking and stair-climbing required to get to the concerts and other events. You should be able to walk unaided for at least thirty minutes. Prague streets are cobbled or roughly paved and some pavements narrow. Festival staff will not have the resources to assist individuals with walking difficulties. We ask that prospective participants assess their fitness by trying some simple exercises described here: 1. Chair stands. Sit in a dining chair, with arms folded and hands on opposite shoulders. Stand up and sit down at least 8 times in 30 seconds.   2. Step test. Mark a wall at a height that is halfway between your knee and your hip bone. Raise each knee in turn to the mark at least 60 times in 2 minutes.   3. Agility test. Place an object 3 yards from the edge of a chair, sit, and record the time it takes to stand up, walk to the object and sit back down. You should be able to do this in under 7 seconds.

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A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

Accommodation & Prices We have selected six hotels for this festival. All are 4- or 5-star. The hotel is the sole determinant of the different prices for the festival package.

Barcelò Old Town

Location is an important consideration: all are within the confines of the mediaeval city, five in the Old Town and one in the Lesser Town across the river. All are within walking distance of most of the concerts and other festival events. Rooms vary. As is inevitable in historic buildings, rooms vary in size and outlook. Suites and rooms with views. The Four Seasons has suites and rooms with views of the river Vltava, and the Aria Hotel has suites and rooms with views of the Vrtba gardens. All are subject to availability at the time of booking. Prices are either given on the next two pages or are available on request.

The prices given are all per person. A list of what is included is given on page 10.

Barcelò Old Town Hotel is within a completely renovated 17thcentury building, excellently situated on Celetná Street in the Old Town. Rooms and public spaces are light and modern, and there is air-conditioning and wireless internet throughout the hotel. Rooms are equipped with tea and coffee making facilities, hairdryer and safe, and most rooms have a bath with shower attachment (some have a shower only). Although its striking stylishness is not for everybody, Barcelò Old Town is comfortable and has the benefit of its location. Locally classified as 4-star.

There is a reduction of £210 if you choose not to take one of the festival flights (see page 11 for these).

www.barcelo.com/en-gb/hotels/czech-republic/prague/barceloold-town-praha

Star ratings. Official local classifications are cited here though, as ever, there is no international correlation of criteria for star ratings so don’t attach too much importance to them.

Arrive a day early

Prices, per person: Deluxe double or twin: £2,890 Deluxe double for single use: £3,350 Junior Suite double or twin: £2,960

Hotel K+K Central

Please contact us if you would like to arrive in Prague a day before the festival starts. The price will depend on your chosen hotel and room category, and includes a choice of two flights from London Heathrow (see page 11 for details of these), and a transfer to your hotel. There is also the option of joining a guided walk of Prague on the morning of Day 1 of the festival. Details will be sent to participants in due course.

Independent or group travel? For the independent traveller or a group tour? The answer is both. It’s up to you to choose the degree of independence you want. If you are uneasy about travelling as part of a group, you can avoid the optional extras and participate in the festival merely by turning up to the concerts (we tell you where and when and how to get there). The rest of the time is your own. But if you prefer to have some guidance and assistance and opportunity for social interaction you can have group dinners every evening, sign up for some art-historical walks and visits and take advantage of any assistance offered for getting to the venues. Though there will be up to 200 participants, you will frequently find yourself in much smaller units. Participants are spread through six hotels, and numbers at each restaurant and on the optional walks and visits are limited. Special attention will be paid by festival staff to participants travelling on their own.

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A recently rebuilt hotel installed in an enchanting 1902 building. Situated in a quiet street just outside the Old Town a few hundred yards from Obecní dům. Pleasingly understated décor and wellequipped rooms; all have air-conditioning, tea and coffee making facilities, safe and hairdryer. There is a wellness centre, gym, bar and bistro. Public areas have been tastefully refurbished and retain some of the original Art Nouveau features. Wireless internet is available throughout the hotel. Locally classified as 4-star. www.kkhotels.com/en/prague/hotel-central Prices, per person: Classic double or twin: £2,940 Classic double for single use: £3,330 Executive double or twin: £3,180

A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

Grand Hotel Bohemia

Aria Hotel

Excellently located in the Old Town beside Obecní dům, the Grand Bohemia was built in 1923 and retains some original features. Public areas are elegant but unfussy, and include a cosy bar and a good restaurant. Bedrooms in contrast are modern, with pleasantly understated decor and comfortable furnishings. All are fully air-conditioned and have a minibar and safe, and all bathrooms have a bath with a shower fitment and a hairdryer. Wireless internet is available free of charge in all rooms. Locally classified as 5-star.

The only hotel located in the Malá Strana (Lesser Town), perhaps the loveliest of the mediaeval districts in Prague. The 5-star Aria is a luxurious boutique hotel following a music theme, with rooms and suites equipped with an iPad, air-conditioning, safe and minibar, and bathrooms with both bathtubs and showers. There is a music library and a resident musicologist at guests’ disposal, and complimentary afternoon tea is served every day. The hotel has a private entrance to the Vrtba Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and there is also a restaurant on the rooftop terrace with views across Prague. Junior Suites have a view of the winter garden, and the Dvořák and Beethoven Suites have a view of the Vrtba garden.

www.grandhotelbohemia.cz Prices, per person: Superior double or twin: £3,470 Superior double for sole use: £3,990 Executive double or twin: £3,580 Junior Suite double or twin: £3,940

www.ariahotel.net/ Prices, per person: Deluxe double or twin: £3,730 Deluxe double for sole use: £4,500 • Junior Suite: £3,810 Dvořák Suite: £4,690 • Beethoven Suite: £5,240

Hotel Paris

The Four Seasons Hotel

Built in 1904 opposite its contemporary the Obecní dům, Hotel Paris is a celebrated example of Bohemian Art Nouveau, outside and in, especially the restaurant and café. Its location in the Old Town is excellent. The bedrooms are comfortable and are equipped with a minibar, safe, free wi-fi and air-conditioning. Bathrooms have a hairdryer and a bath with a shower fitment. Locally classified as 5-star.

Probably the most luxurious hotel in the city, the 5-star Four Seasons occupies a group of historic buildings wonderfully located on the river Vltava with views of the Charles Bridge and across to Prague Castle. The sequence of sophisticated common areas includes an excellent restaurant and bar. The rooms, recently refurbished, are very spacious (35m2 upwards) and come with all the comforts you would expect from a hotel of this category (marble bathroom, bathrobes, designer toiletries, complimentary newspapers, safe, hairdryer, air-conditioning, wifi, etc.). A newly opened wellness centre overlooks the river.

www.hotel-paris.cz/en Prices, per person: Deluxe double or twin: £3,470 Deluxe double for single use: £3,990 Executive double or twin: £3,670 Junior Suite double or twin: £3,940

www.fourseasons.com/prague Prices, per person: Superior double or twin: £4,420 Superior double for single use: £5,630 Premier River View double or twin: £5,990

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A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

Treasures of Moravia Pre-festival tour 6–13 June 2018 (me 900) 8 days • £2,820 Lecturer: Dr Jarl Kremeier A little-known corner of Europe with a fascinating architectural patrimony. Unspoilt historic towns, Renaissance palaces, extraordinary Baroque churches. Led by Dr Jarl Kremeier, specialist in 17th- to 19th-century architecture and decorative arts. Enchanting landscape; historic gardens.

For a couple of decades in the ninth century the Great Moravian Empire encompassed not only Czech and Slovak lands but also parts of what are now Austria, Hungary and Poland. This agglomeration of territories rapidly disintegrated, and neighbouring Bohemia began to take shape and take priority. Ever since then Moravia has been the lesser member in an enduring partnership with Bohemia. Yoked together, they fell together under Habsburg suzerainty in 1526, emerged together in 1920 to form (with Slovakia) the new Czechoslovakia, and stayed together in 1993 to form the Czech Republic (shorn of Slovakia). It may have been politically provincial but it was a prosperous area and quite close to the chief metropolis of Central Europe, Vienna. Its rich architectural and artistic patrimony includes fine Renaissance country houses, outstanding Baroque palaces and churches, bizarre buildings by Jan Santini-Aichel, historic gardens both formal and landscaped, galleries of fine and decorative art, much beautiful streetscape in towns and villages, and rolling landscape. Moravia gets better every year. Architectural conservation proceeds apace, towns are smartened up, hotels and restaurants are improving, and more and more museums and historic buildings are refurbished and better presented. In spite of these developments Moravia is much less on the tourist track than Bohemia and remains fairly unspoilt.

Brueghel). The 17th-century walled garden with pavilion and immense colonnade is an astounding survival.

Itinerary

Day 7: Vranov nad Dyji, Jaroměřice. Perched high above a gorge close to the Austrian border, the great oval Hall of Ancestors at Vranov is one of the most impressive Baroque creations in Central Europe, the creation of the greatest architect and greatest painter in the region at the time. The splendid mansion at Jaroměřice sprawls irregularly, but contains some wonderful 18th-century interiors and an enormous chapel. Overnight Telč.

Day 1: Zd’ár nad Sázavou, Brno. Fly at c. 9.45am from London Heathrow to Prague (British Airways) and drive south into Moravia. Visit the pilgrimage church at Zd’ár nad Sázavou, a Baroque-Gothic creation by the maverick architect Santini-Aichel and among the most bizarre and fascinating buildings of the 18th century. Continue to Brno where the next five nights are spent. Day 2: Brno. The present capital of Moravia, and the second largest Czech city, Brno has a wealth of Gothic and Baroque churches and fine architecture of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. A walk includes the mediaeval town hall, the fine Gothic church of St James and the Baroque Minorite church, among other treasures. Villa Tugendhadt is a superb house by modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Day 3: Slavkov, Kroměříž. Alias Austerlitz, Slavkov gave its name to Napoleon’s 1805 victory against Austro-Russian armies. After surveying the battlefield, visit the imposing Baroque mansion, which contains a fine art collection. The Bishop’s Palace at Kroměříž with magnificent Rococo hall and fine art collection (Titian, van Dyck,

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Day 4: Lednice, Rajhrad. On a vast estate straddling the Austrian border once owned by the Liechtensteins, the richest magnates in the Habsburg Empire, Lednice has a superbly crafted Gothic Revival mansion, magnificent Baroque stables and a landscaped park dotted with architectural follies. Rajhrad monastery was built in the eighteenth century on a vast scale, and has a magnificent church by SantiniAichel, the genius of Bohemian Baroque. Day 5: Olomouc, Bučovice. Olomouc, former capital of Moravia, has many fine churches, a Romanesque episcopal palace and Renaissance town hall. Several magnificently sculpted fountains are spread through a large tract of highly attractive historic townscape, surely the loveliest little city in Europe which is not yet on the tourist trail. Bučovice has a splendid Renaissance mansion with arcaded courtyard and stucco interiors of a quality virtually without equal in northern Europe. Day 6: Naměst nad Oslavou, Telč. Dramatically sited above a little town in the valley below, the fabric of the castle at Naměst nad Oslavou dates largely to the later 16th century. There is a large Baroque hall with frescoes by Carpoforo Tencalla, 1670–73. Telč is a tiny town with the loveliest square in the Czech Lands, lined with Renaissance and Baroque façades above a meandering Gothic arcade. First of two nights in Telč.

Day 8: Telč. The castle in Telč was extended in stages during the 16th century with a series of halls of brilliant, eccentric decoration around elegant, arcaded courtyards; a jewel of the Northern Renaissance. Some free time before driving to Prague for the return flight to Heathrow, arriving c. 6.15pm. Participants combining this tour with A Festival of Music in Prague are taken to their chosen hotel this afternoon. On the final day of the festival return to London Heathrow on flight Option 1 (see page 11 for full details), arriving at c. 12.30pm. Many of the houses on this itinerary require special permission to visit. The order may therefore vary a little from the description above.

A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

Walking in Southern Bohemia Lecturer Dr Jarl Kremeier. Art historian specialising in 17th- to 19th-century architecture and decorative arts. He teaches Art History at the Berlin College of Acting and Berlin’s Freie Universität. He is a contributor to the Macmillan Dictionary of Art and author of Die Hofkirche der Würzburger Residenz.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,820 or £2,610 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,060 or £2,850 without flights. Included: air travel (Euro Traveller) on scheduled British Airways flights (Airbus A320); travel by private coach; accommodation as described below; breakfasts, 4 lunches and 6 dinners with wine; admission charges for all museums and places visited; all tips for waiters, drivers and guides; all airport and state taxes; the services of the lecturer and local guide/interpreter. Accommodation. Grandezza Hotel, Brno (grandezzahotel.cz/): a newly opened boutique hotel, the luxurious Grandezza Hotel is located in the heart of Brno’s historic centre The Green Market. Hotel U Hraběnky, Telč (hotel-uhrabenky.cz/en): the only usable hotel for many miles around, this 4-star hotel is fairly old-fashioned, if adequately equipped. Single rooms are doubles for sole use. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking on this tour, some of it up slopes or up steps. To be able to enjoy the tour it would be essential to manage daily walking and stairclimbing without any difficulties. There is also a fair amount of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 100 miles. Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

Combining Moravia with the festival Flights, if you require them, are included in the price of this tour. You therefore pay the ‘no flights’ price for the festival (by subtracting £210). You do not need to choose a flight option for your return to London at the end of the festival.

The Rhine Valley Music Festival 20–27 June 2018. Please contact us if you are interested in combining A Festival of Music in Prague with The Rhine Valley Music Festival. Illustrations. Left: Brno, 1930s coloured etching. Right: Cesky Krumlov, early-20th-century woodcut.

Pre-festival tour 8–13 June 2018 (me 904) 6 days • £2,260 Lecturer: Dr Jana Gajdošová Country walking; architectural history. Undulating countryside, some uphill walks, through woodland of oak, lime and conifer and across meadows and arable land. A variety of castles and country houses and extremely pretty towns and villages. Led by Dr Jana Gajdošová, art historian specialising in the architecture of Central Europe.

The beauty of Bohemia is two-fold: exquisite towns and villages, and countryside as beguiling as any in Central Europe. In its southernmost reaches low-lying pastures give way to the foothills of the Šumava mountains on the Austrian border. Walking here delves deep into a gentle landscape, much of it farmland, predominantly arable, even more of it woodland and coniferous forest. Water is a constant with innumerable man-made lakes dating from the Middle Ages and the mighty River Vltava. There are no mountain peaks to scale or deep valleys to traverse. Some views are panoramic, others are snatched in forest clearings, some stretches are enclosed with no vistas at all. Nevertheless, walking here offers an intense experience with its own set of charms.

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A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

Walking in Southern Bohemia, continued Firstly, solitude: a careful construction of waymarked paths is woefully neglected by walkers, with just the occasional cyclist or mushroom-picker to sidestep. Then there is ever-changing texture and colour, through dry and practically alpine forest to low-lying, damp, dark woods; across maize and wheat farmland to fallow fields and meadows: a paint chart of greens, soft and musty or intense and clean. Finally, the chief focus of the tour: walks into (or away from) buildings and built environments of beauty, charm or magnificence, a sequence of country houses, monasteries, town palaces and castles. The tour is co-led by an art historian and a Czech guide who talks about the recent past. For much of its history, but especially in the sixteenth century, Bohemia was one of the most prosperous regions in Europe. Many of the great magnates of the Habsburg Empire established summer residences here, constantly rebuilding, extending and refurbishing. Reception of Italian Renaissance architecture was precocious, and in the era of Baroque there was a veritable mania for building. Many parks and gardens later succumbed to the fashion for the English landscaped style, and also partly of British inspiration was the nineteenth-century Gothic Revival.

Itinerary Day 1: Hluboká. Fly at c. 9.45am from London Heathrow to Prague. Drive southwards to the Gothic Revival castle at Hluboká, summer home of the Schwarzenbergs, wealthiest landowners in South Bohemia, and richly furnished and decorated. Continue to our neighbouring hotel for the first of three nights. Day 2: Staré Město pod Landštejnem, Slavonice, Samosoly, Červená Lhota. Walk: Staré Město to Slavonice, 8 km. Ascent: 88m, descent: 181m. The walk begins with wonderful views of unspoiled, hilly countryside marking the boundary of the Czech Republic and Austria. Continue through forests of fir and pine, passing defences which the Czech army was obliged to relinquish as a consequence of Chamberlain’s acquiescence to Hitler’s demands in 1938. Lunch in the beautiful little town of Slavonice, its two squares lined with 16th-century houses, arcaded and gabled. Drive to Samosoly for a short afternoon walk to the raspberrypink castle of Cervena Lhota set in the middle of a lake and surrounded by a landscaped park, 3 km. Ascent: 38m, descent: 37m. Day 3: Jindřichův Hradec, Spolí, Třeboň. Morning visit to Jindřichův Hradec castle with arcades and an exquisite Renaissance rotunda. Afternoon walk: Spolí to Lake Svet, 7 km.

Combining Walking in Southern Bohemia with the festival Flights, if you require them, are included in the price of this tour. You therefore pay the ‘no flights’ price for the festival (by subtracting £210). You do not need to choose a festival flight option for your return to London at the end of the festival.

Participants combining this tour with A Festival of Music in Prague are taken to their chosen hotel this afternoon. On the final day of the festival return to London Heathrow on flight Option 2 (see page 11 for full details), arriving at c. 2.50pm. Many of the houses on this itinerary require special permission to visit. The order may therefore vary a little from the description above. Ascent: 52m, descent: 60m. From the village of Spolí we ascend gently, affording views of the surrounding diverse landscape before entering a pine tree forest to Lake Svet. Visit the Schwarzenberg mausoleum on the edge of the delightful small town of Třeboň and remain here for dinner before returning to Hluboká. Day 4: Krtely, Kratochvíle, Kladné, Český Krumlov. Walk: Krtely to Kratochvíle, 3 km. Ascent: 38m, descent: 100m. A gentle walk through meadows and forest until the Renaissance castle of Kratochvíle gradually appears in the distance. After a visit and lunch, drive to Kladné for the afternoon walk into Český Krumlov: 6 km. Ascent: 154m, descent: 198m. This is a varied and picturesque walk of forested hills, carpeted with blueberries and hayfields, through the decaying remains of a Baroque estate into the formal gardens of the castle, from where we capture a first and glorious view of this exceedingly pretty town. First of two nights in Český Krumlov.

Lecturer Dr Jana Gajdošová. Art historian with a particular interest in the Middle Ages in Central Europe. She obtained her MA at the Courtauld Institute, and her PhD at Birkbeck College. She has lectured at the University of Cambridge and at Christies Eduction, and is writing her first book: Bridging Space & Time.

Practicalities Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,260 or £2,050 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,410 or £2,200 without flights. Included: flights (Euro Traveller) with British Airways (Airbus 320); travel by private coach; hotel accommodation as described below; breakfasts; 4 lunches (including 1 packed lunch) and 5 dinners with wine, water, coffee; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and local guide.

Day 5: Český Krumlov, Vyssí Brod. Return to the castle on a hilltop above Cesky Krumlov, Mediaeval in origin, with Renaissance and Baroque additions. See the hall, painted with a masked ball. Drive to Vyssí Brod, once a major Cistercian monastery with a 13th-century church. Circular walk from Vyssí Brod: 6 km. Ascent: 214m, descent: 201m. Skirting the monastery complex, we follow an extremely scenic route via the waterfalls of Menší Vltavice and a neo-Romanesque chapel with lovely views of the Šumava foothills.

Accommodation. Hotel Štekl, Hluboká nad Vltavou (hotelstekl.cz): 4-star hotel converted from an auxiliary building belonging to the neighbouring mansion. Hotel Latrán, Český Krumlov (latran.hotely-krumlov.cz): small, 4-star hotel near the castle. Single rooms throughout are doubles for sole use.

Day 6: Český Krumlov, Prague. Morning visit of Český Krumlov’s castle theatre, one of the few intact 18th-century theatres to have survived, and the Gothic church of St Vitus. Drive to Prague for the afternoon flight arriving at London Heathrow at c. 7.30pm.

Group size: between 10 and 22 participants.

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How strenuous? This is a walking tour: it is essential for participants to be in good physical condition and to be used to country walking, including hill walking. Average distance by coach per day: 82 miles.

Illustration: Hluboka, wood engraving c. 1880.

A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

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Arrive a day early: if you require a quote for accommodation in your festival hotel on 12th June, please tick: ☐ Hotel and room type:

Barcelò Old Town

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Executive double – two sharing only

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Premier River View double – two sharing only

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Junior Suite – two sharing only

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Dvorák ˇ Suite – two sharing only

☐

Beethoven Suite – two sharing only

☐

Deluxe double

Flights. See page 11.

Optional extra dinners. See page 10 under ‘Optional extras’.

Arrive 12th June (a day early): Arrive 13th June:

☐ Two extra dinners (£140)

☐ Option 1

12 June depart London 09.50 19 June arrive London 12.30

☐ Three extra dinners (£210)

☐ Option 3

13 June depart London 09.50 19 June arrive London 12.30

Pre-festival tours. See pages 14–16. ☐ Treasures of Moravia, 6–13 June 2018 (me 900)

☐ Option 2

☐ Option 4

Room type

Travel arrangements

If you require accommodation in your festival hotel on the 12th June, please ensure you have ticked the box beside ‘Arrive a day early’ in the section above.

Making own arrangements:

☐ Double – two sharing

☐ Flights: out with the tour,

☐ Option 5: no flights

☐ Twin – two sharing

12 June depart London 13.25 19 June arrive London 14.50

13 June depart London 13.25 19 June arrive London 14.50

☐ Walking in Southern Bohemia, 8–13 June 2018 (me 904)

☐ Double room for sole use

and back with the festival

☐ No flights: making my own

arrangements either side of the tour and festival

A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

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A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018

Booking details and conditions Before booking, please refer to the FCO website to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the places you are going to wwwfco.gov.uk

Making a booking 1. Booking option We recommend that you contact us first to ascertain that your preferred hotel option is still available. You can make a booking option which we will hold for one week (longer if necessary) pending receipt of your completed Booking Form and deposit. You can also make a booking option online.

2. Definite booking Fill in the Booking Form and send it to us with the deposit(s) or make a definite booking online, at www.martinrandall.com. It is important that you read the Booking Conditions at this stage, and that you sign the Booking Form if booking offline. Full payment is required if you are booking within ten weeks of the festival (i.e. after 4th April 2018).

3. Our confirmation Upon receipt of your Booking Form and deposit we send you confirmation of your booking. Further details about the festival may also be sent at this stage, or will follow shortly afterwards. After this your deposit is nonreturnable except in the special circumstances mentioned below in the Booking Conditions.

Booking Conditions Please read these You need to sign your assent to these booking conditions on the booking form.

Our promises to you We aim to be fair, reasonable and sympathetic in all our dealings with clients, and to act always with integrity. We will meet all our legal and regulatory responsibilities, often going beyond the minimum obligations. We aim to provide full and accurate information about our tours and festivals. If there are changes, we will tell you promptly. If something does go wrong, we will try to put it right. Our overriding aim is to ensure that every client is satisfied with our services.

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Specific terms Our contract with you. From the time we receive your signed booking form and initial payment, a contract exists between you and Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Eligibility. We reserve the right to refuse a booking without necessarily giving a reason. You need to have a level of fitness which would not spoil other participants’ enjoyment of the festival or tour by slowing them down – see ‘Fitness’ on

page 11. To this end we ask you to take the tests described there. By signing the booking form you are stating that you have met these requirements. If during the festival or tour it transpires you are not able to cope adequately, you may be asked to opt out of certain visits, or be invited to leave altogether. Insurance. It is a requirement of booking that you have adequate holiday insurance. Cover for medical treatment, repatriation, loss of property and cancellation charges must be included. If you are making your own flight/travel arrangements, please ensure you have insurance in place that protects you in the unlikely event of Martin Randall Travel cancelling the tour or festival. Experience tells us that free travel insurance offered by some credit card companies is not reliable in the event of a claim. Passports and visas. Participants must have passports, valid for at least six months beyond the date of the festival. Visas are not required for travel in the Czech Republic for UK or other EU citizens, or citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Nationals of other countries should ascertain whether visas are required in their case, and obtain them if so. If you cancel. If you have to cancel your participation in the festival or tour there would be a charge which varies according to the period of notice you give. Up to 57 days before departure the deposit only is forfeited. Thereafter a percentage of the total cost will be due: from 56 to 29 days: 40% from 28 to 15 days: 60% from 14 to 3 days: 80% within 48 hours: 100% If you cancel your booking in a double or twin room but are travelling with a companion who chooses not to cancel, the companion will be liable to pay the single occupancy price. We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive your written confirmation of cancellation. If we cancel the festival or tour. We might decide to cancel the festival or tour if at any time up to eight weeks before departure there were insufficient bookings for it to be viable. We would refund everything you had paid to us. Safety and security. If the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel to places visited on a tour or festival, we would cancel it or adjust the itinerary to avoid the risky area. In the event of cancellation before departure, we would give you a full refund. We would also treat sympathetically a wish to withdraw from a tour to a troubled region even if the FCO does not advise against travel there. Seatbelts. Our tours and festivals subscribe to the health and safety legislation of the destination. In some parts of the world the law concerning seatbelts differs to the UK. The limits of our liabilities. As principal, we accept responsibility for all ingredients of the festival or tour, except those in which the principle of force majeure prevails. Our obligations and responsibilities are also limited where international conventions apply in respect of air, sea or rail carriers, including the Warsaw Convention and its various updates.

If we make changes. Circumstances might arise which prevent us from operating the festival or tour exactly as advertised. We would try to devise a satisfactory alternative, but if the change represents a significant loss to the festival or tour we would offer compensation. If you decide to cancel because the alternative we offer is not acceptable we would give a full refund. Financial protection: ATOL. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays which include international flights, by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 3622. When you buy an ATOL protected flight inclusive holiday from us you receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. Most of our flights and flight-inclusive holidays on our website and in our brochure are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. In order to be protected under the ATOL scheme you need to be in the UK when you make your booking and/or one of the flights you take must originate or terminate in the UK with the group. Financial protection: ABTA. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays that do not include a flight, by way of a bond held by ABTA The Travel Association. We will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where we aren’t able do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable). If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims maybe re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme. English Law. These conditions form part of your contract with Martin Randall Travel Ltd and are governed by English law. All proceedings shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

MRT music festivals in 2018 Music in the Cotswolds 21–24 May 2018 A Festival of Music in Prague 13–19 June 2018 The Rhine Valley Music Festival 20–27 June 2018 A Festival of Music in Franconia 25 August–1 September 2018 The Divine Office: Choral Music in Oxford 24–28 September 2018 A Festival of Music in Bologna October 2018 Contact us to register your interest

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Illustration: Prague Castle with the Cathedral of St Vitus from the arcade of the Belvedere, 20thcentury etching.

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