Holy Sepulchre Church is the National Musicians’ Church, and therefore a very appropriate venue for the final event in the 29th Made in Prague Festival organised by the Czech Centre. However, perhaps reflecting the difficult times all musicians currently face, the temperatures inside were decidedly frosty, offering quite the challenge to a programme full of patriotic glow, romantic lilt, and youthful optimism. It is a tribute to the collective skills of Pavel Šporcl and the English Chamber Orchestra Ensemble that they proceeded to deliver it with such conviction and panache.
Dressed in his trademark blue coat and bearing his blue violin, Šporcl is a wholly charismatic figure, in a long line of Czech virtuosi whose pedigree was a feature of one of his fascinating commentaries in between items. He is a natural and unaffected communicator whether through music or words.
We began with two pieces by Dvořák, both characterised by his typical long melodies and deftly delicate orchestration. In the Mazurka the players ensured that we were never far from the original dance rhythms of the work. Šporcl found an engaging contrast between the sweetness of tone and the infectious energy of the contrasted sections, and there was a consistently good balance with the ensemble.
The Romance in F Minor offered a soaring, longer-breathed melody resting on a warm aureole of string sound, which bears some comparison to that classic of English string repertory, The Lark Ascending. Here again, everyone leaned into the effortless flow of the lines, while offering sharp punctuation in the form of pizzicato playing both snappy and exuberant.
At the heart of the evening was a composition of Šporcl’s own – his variations on the song ‘Where is my homeland?’, from which the modern Czech national anthem is derived. This was a virtuoso showpiece, very much in the Paganini tradition, with fearsome double stopping and impressive contrasts in dynamics, whether a full lavish romantic tone played close to the bridge, or a teasing thin thread of sound that verged on inaudible.
The longest work in the programme was the Mendelssohn Octet where Šporcl joined the other seven players as first violin. It was a rare pleasure to hear this classic work played with such vigour and intensity and relish. As they launched into the expansive, even swashbuckling, tune of the first movement you really did believe again that this was the work of a supremely talented and carefree teenager. Yes, there were a few untidy moments, but the spontaneous applause at the end of that movement suggested this mattered little overall.
The remaining three movements received equally memorable shaping, particularly the scherzo, which ultimately was played twice as an encore. The ensemble clearly relished the jazzy syncopations, the playful contrasts in dynamics and the fizzing inward intensity of the writing – as though a buzzing insect were labouring across a windowpane before finally escaping into the ether.
This programme was well contrived to showcase the exuberant gifts and skills of soloist and ensemble while offering a pleasaing conclusion to the latest celebration of Czech artistic life.
Holy Sepulchre Church, Holborn
29th Made in Prague Festival Closing Gala Concert
Pavel Šporcl and the English Chamber Orchestra Ensemble
30 November 2025
Photo Credit: Jan Pavelka