Open Air of the Prague Spring with the support of the ČEZ Group

Kick off the Prague Spring festival with us on May 12th in Riegrovy Sady!

From 3 PM, we have prepared an entertaining program for both young and old audiences, culminating in a live broadcast of the opening concert of the Prague Spring 2026 at 8 PM from the Municipal House. Bedřich Smetana's Má vlast will be performed by the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Petr Popelka. Before that, you can dive into the playful musical world with Vlnohraní, let loose with the kids at the Big Drumming Show, test your music knowledge in the popular AZ quiz, or enjoy a live concert by the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. Bring your family, friends, picnic blanket, and let’s go to the Open Air Prague Spring, which we have prepared for you again this year with the support of the ČEZ Group. Program: 3:00 PM - Vlnohraní – Musical Zoo Nature has always been a source of musical inspiration. Composers strive to capture not only its beauty but also the voices of animals that are inseparably linked to it. Some bring these sounds closer through musical imitations, while others tell stories in which animals gain human traits or play key roles in people's lives. Through live musicians, the roar of a lion, the flight of a butterfly, or a swan's song will come to life. This will be the Musical Zoo, an interactive concert by Czech Radio for children aged 5 to 10. The light-hearted program about serious music will be hosted by actress and Czech Radio Vltava presenter Jana Trojanová. 4:00 PM - Big Drumming Show by HAMU Percussion Ensemble A concert full of not only rhythms but also curiosities from the percussion instruments' storage and interaction with the audience. You will hear and see buckets, brooms, barrels, rain sticks, flying saucers, and singing shells, as well as percussion of all kinds. Younger listeners aged 6 to 12 and their parents will especially enjoy this, but older siblings won't be bored either. 5:30 PM - Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra Jan Novák – violin Antonio Vivaldi: Violin Concerto, String Orchestra and Basso Continuo in E major "Spring" op. 8, no. 1 from the cycle The Four Seasons Antonín Dvořák: Serenade in E major for String Instruments op. 22 The Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, composed of leading players from the first Czech orchestra, will join forces with young violinist Jan Novák, laureate of the International Music Competition Prague Spring and holder of the award for the most successful and youngest Czech participant. Their joint performance will begin – as it should – with Spring from the famous cycle The Four Seasons by the baroque master Antonio Vivaldi. The concert in the relaxed atmosphere of Riegrovy Sady will continue with the joyful Serenade for String Orchestra, which Antonín Dvořák composed in just fourteen days – when else but – in the spring of 1875. 6:30 PM - AZ Quiz on the Road The legendary competition of Czech Television will this time be live with Aleš Zbořil directly in the park and with questions from the music world. Among the competitors will be prominent figures from the world of classical music who know how to not take themselves too seriously. Test your knowledge against opera singer Adam Plachetka, chief conductor of the National Theatre Opera Robert Jindra, or composer and conductor Marko Ivanović. 8:00 PM - Opening Concert Did you miss out on tickets for the opening concert of the Prague Spring? No worries! Watch the live broadcast of Smetana's Má vlast performed by the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra and Petr Popelka under the open sky in Riegerovy Sady. “Má vlast is not about blind nationalism. It is written with genuine and completely disarming love for the homeland,” says Petr Popelka, chief conductor and music director of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra and one of the most sought-after artists of the present day, who conducts the best world orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.