Czech Classical Music Rocks Berlin’s Tempodrom

The Symphonic Rock Orchestra of Prague is proposing a very unusual set list for its concert in Germany this year. When people hear the word orchestra, they immediately relate it to old classical music. But in this case, the audience will be surprised, because the concept of orchestra is renewed by combining great rock music hits with all the complexity of a symphonic arrangement.

Big names of the last 40 years of rock will be revisited: AC/CD, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, U2 and Pink Floyd are finding a new musical richness. The fusion of these two pieces of music history is also reversed as classic important pieces such as the Symphony No. 5 in C minor by Ludwig van Beethoven is performed with the contribution of the electric guitar, the symbol of rock music.

The director of the Symphonic Rock Orchestra is Friedmann Riehle, who enthusiastically promotes this project to incorporate these different kinds of music in a new symbiosis, giving classic music a new life and getting closer to new generations.

The music also combines different cultures: there are 60 musicians and a band, all from different countries. Besides the conductor, who is German and born in Stuttgart, other known names are the Slovak guitarist Rony Janeček, who is accompanying the orchestra with his guitar during the 5^th Symphony of Beethoven, Czech singer Markéta Poulíčková, and singers Tereza Hálová and Nikoleta Spalasová.

This concert is therefore an excellent display of culture, both in the sense of music history, and also for the experience of cultural integration.