Since several years Jan Cizmar is occupied with exploring a musical history of one particular castle - Strážnice (Strassnitz) in eastern Moravia, Czech republic. Currently this is his PhD. theme at the Masaryk university of Brno.

Although the very rich collection of music and musical instruments itself is housed today in the Brno Museum Music Archive, its exact history is rather obscure. Except of the surviving materials of mostly unknown composers there is no direct evidence of the musical life at the castle. However it is clear that there must have been a rich musical life. The italian family Magni have brought with them many people from Italy, with this group had to come the instruments, some already written music and the musicians, who produced the rest.

Currently cooperation is being realized between several institutions and thus a line of interesting Strážnice-related projects is in view or has been already realized:

Feb 2014 - JAMU Brno - concert: JOA (Jeune Orchestre Atlantique) within EURtext project

17.12.2013 - FOK Praha - concert: Maria Tecla Andreotti, Marta Kratochvílová, Christophe Coin, Jan Čižmář (on original instruments used with permission of MZM and ČMH - České muzeum hudby or from private collection) - all music from Strážnice collection

date tbc - Hudební lahůdky Brno - concert: Maria Tecla Andreotti, Marta Kratochvílová, Christophe Coin, Jan Čižmář (on original instruments used with permission of MZM and ČMH - České muzeum hudby or from private collection) - all music from Strážnice collection

date tbc - Wien - concert: Maria Tecla Andreotti, Marta Kratochvílová, Christophe Coin, Jan Čižmář (on original instruments used with permission of MZM and ČMH - České muzeum hudby or from private collection) - all music from Strážnice collection

28.11.2013-2.2014 - MZM Brno (Moravian Museum in Brno) - exhibition of Strážnice musical life

28.11.2013 - concert performance accompanying the opening ceremony of the exhibition

catalogue of musicalia prepared by Simona Šindlářová and Jan Čižmář - MZM Brno

inputting of all items in RISM - Simona Šindlářová, MZM Brno; Jan Čižmář, FFMU Brno (Faculty of Arts at the Masaryk University of Brno)

edition of selected pieces prepared by Jan Čižmář, to be published by MZM Brno

edition of selected pieces prepared by Jan Čižmář, to be published by JAMU Brno (Janáček Academy of Music in Brno) within EURtext project

list and evaluation of instruments from the collection - Jan Čižmář

historical survey - Simona Šindlářová, MZM Brno

recording of selected titles in the music studio

19.3.2013 - Barbara Maria WIlli uvádí - concert: performance of selected pieces from Strážnice collection: Petra Matějová, fortepiano; Adéla Štajnochrová, violin

Thanks to the kind help of Moravian Museum in Brno part of the research can be conducted in a very practical way - performing in concerts. Not only bringing out the music, but also in some concert performing it on the original instruments from the very same collection. The unique ivory flute was used by Marta Kratochvilova specially for selected programmes designed from the collection.

Performances of music from Strážnice have been so far: (list not complete)

January 2009 - Strasbourg (FR), Ostwald (FR)

July 2009 - Znojmo

July 2009 - CD recording

November 2009 - Brno, Strážnice, Katowice (PL)

related links:

mzm.cz/mzm/oddeleni/oddeleni_dejin_hudby.html

http://www.mzm.cz/dietrichsteinsky-palac-vystavy/straznicka-hudebni-sbirka/

opac.rism.info

www.fok.cz