Petr Ostrouchov's music from the film zelary (2003) is being released for the first time as a purely musical soundtrack without dialogues, in a newly mixed and arranged version. The film, directed by Ondrej Trojan, won two Czech Lions (Czech and Television Academy Award) and a number of nominations, including the most prestigious one - an Oscar nomination for the best foreign language film. Although almost 22 years have passed since it's release and the composer had been considering the idea of ?releasing the score on vinyl for some time, the final impetus for the album's release was this year's departure of the legendary film conductor Mario Klemens, who had participated in number of film soundtracks and who also conducted the orchestra during the recording of the music for the film zelary; the album is dedicated to his memory. Petr Ostrouchov received his first (out of eight) nomination for the Czech Lion award and the award for best music from the festival in Karachi, Pakistan. "zelary was only the second feature film with my music and a very important one for me. As a beginner and amateur, I composed and arranged music for the orchestra and had the opportunity to work with conductor Mario Klemens. Moreover, the film resonated very well, it received an Oscar nomination, I received my first nomination for the Czech Lion Award and Viera Langerova brought me the award for best music from the festival in Karachi, Pakistan, where I "beat" Alexandre Desplat and John Williams in my category, both these facts seemed absurd to me. The soundtrack was released on CD 22 years ago, the music was interwoven with dialogues from the film, as was usual back then, and the CD has long since been unavailable. The idea of ?releasing the music from zelary in newly mixed versions and in a different way has matured for many years, the film has certainly not been forgotten, on the contrary, it still has it's audiences and the "music from zelary" has opened many doors for me. I compiled the recordings into a more or less fluid flow of music, without dialogues, with only a few folk songs of great female ensemble from the Beskid Mountains called Grunik," says Petr Ostrouchov about the album's release.
The Jungle Book is a studio recording of music by Marko Ivanovic, created for a theatrical music-and-dance project on which the composer and conductor collaborated with the Forman Brothers’ Theatre, Dekkadancers, the Czech Philharmonic, and Jatka78 Theatre. The world premiere of the project, based on Rudyard Kipling’s eponymous novel took place in Azyl78 in Prague in June 2022 and was followed by nearly two dozen performances in the following month, all completely sold out.
On this new album, Ivanovic has been joined by an orchestra composed of members of the Czech Philharmonic. Its release marks this year’s block of performances of The Jungle Book which will take place between 28 May and 18 June 2023, again on the scene of Azyl78. Marko Ivanovic has not only authored the music but has also co-authored the script and conducts the fifteen member orchestra during the performances. The Jungle Book is, in his words, his first attempt at a form in which music and dance, rather than words, narrate the story and carry its meaning. He adds: “For me, as a former boy scout, Kipling's book and its message and atmosphere have always held a strong appeal. And the opportunity to try and emulate in music the world of wild and seemingly chaotic nature, where a deep, unchanging order reigns has been a wonderfully inspiring experience.”
Marko Ivanovic is currently the chief conductor of the Janácek Theatre in Brno. He is also a dedicatedpromoter of contemporary music and has contributed to many first Czech performances of major foreign works. Together with Petr Kadlec, he has established a series of educational programmes ofclassical and contemporary music for young audiences. His previous successful collaborations with Forman Brothers’ Theatre include music for the opera “Carokraj” (2012) and his instrumentation of the score of Jirí Suchý and Jirí Šlitr’s jazz opera “Dobre placená procházka” for a new production at the National Theatre in Prague in 2007 (directed by Miloš and Petr Forman).el deployment of live electronics.
Water Lost And Returned is an original soundtrack from the documentary film by Radek Plihal about the restoration of the unique landscape of Sumava wetlands and mires. Film is a visual and sonic meditation on the beauty of the Southern Bohemia nature (Sumava National Park), it observes the fascinating return of water into the landscape and contains a number of breathtaking shots of wild animals and places that are not usually accessible. The music was composed in collaboration of the singer and multiple Czech Music Academy Award (Angel award) holder Lenka Dusilova and composer Petr Ostrouchov who also produced Lenka Dusilova’s last album Reka (River, 2020) awarded with three Angels and is author of film and TV scores (collaborating with Ondrej Trojan, Jan Hrebejk or Viktor Tauš among others), nominated for the Czech Lion award eight times. Together, they acoompanied the film with a single continuous flow of ambient music and sounds that tell the story of water lost and found again. The soundtrack is now being released in its original uninterrupted form, both on CD and as digital download.
