PRAGUE, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Prague's Municipal House has hosted on Saturday the 73rd Prague Spring International Music Festival, country's largest classical music event held each year in various instrumental sections.
The main dramaturgical line of this year's Prague Spring is the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Czechoslovak Republic.
The opening concert was performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Tomas Netopil. It traditionally started with a masterpiece of the Czech music "My Fatherland" by Bedrich Smetana.
The composition represents six symphonic poems inspired by the history, legends and landscape of Bohemia. Since 1952 the works have been performed to open the Prague Spring International Music Festival on May 12, the anniversary of the death of their composer.
Prague Spring started on Saturday morning at the Vysehrad Cemetery with a traditional ceremony to honor the memory of Bedrich Smetana, who marked the beginning of the festival.
Later afternoon there was a musical picnic in Kampa Park at 4 p.m. local time. The opening concert was held in the evening and broadcasted live in eight cinemas across the Czech Republic.
The festival will be completed on June 3 by the Slovak Philharmonic with their new chief conductor James Judd. The festival will offer 60 concerts. Because the event focuses on supporting young performers, this year's performer is a violinist Julian Rachlin.
