Born in 1959, Martin Smolka is one of the leading figures on the Czech music scene. He describes the piece here, composed in 2007, as “a poetical idea of angels sitting in their angelic cars and sounding their horns, reminding us of Jericho’s trumpets.” In 2011, František Chaloupka (born 1981) took part in a workshop in Frankfurt led by Péter Eötvös and the Ensemble Modern, which focused on the connection between myths and national identity. Machine Gun was commissioned by Eötvös. Slavomír Hořínka (born 1980) is one of the most successful composers of his generation. His piece for trumpet, strings and piano was composed in 2004. The melodrama by Petr Wajsar (born 1978) was inspired by Paul Claudel’s philosophical “fan” poetry. The line-up of performers for this work, written for a reader and a small ensemble, is more or less identical to that for Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale. The title of the work by Michal Nejtek (born in 1977) is two lines from Raymond Carver’s poem Your Dog Dies. “The composition is a dialogue with the poetry of Carver and my reflections. […] I have no idea what this is, what it was going to be, or what it expresses. But I hope this will all become clear soon,” wrote the composer in his notes accompanying the composition. Presented by: Budapest Festival Orchestra, Palace of Arts

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