Ondřej Kukal: Symphony No. 1
Jiří Teml: The Labyrinth of Memory

Two symphonic works by contemporary Czech composers, Ondřej Kukal (*1964) and Jiří Teml (*1935) have much in common. Not just their autobiographical inspiration and the theme of memory, but each represents a significant milestone in its composer’s career and life. While in Ondřej Kukal’s case, the motif of remembrance has a symbolic value, providing a reference to the illness that caused the author to lose his memory in 2003, in Jiří Teml’s work, remembering is the main theme, as he uses musical images to recount memories of his life.

Ondřej Kukal’s Symphony No. 1, “With Glockenspiel”, holds symbolic significance for the composer. Kukal is a triple threat as conductor, composer and violinist. He wrote the composition in 1999, at the height of his career, during his tenure with the South Czech Philharmonic in České Budějovice. At that time he also served as concertmaster of the Prague Chamber Orchestra, performing at venues such as New York’s Lincoln Centre, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and Vienna’s Musikverein. In 2003, shortly before he was to conduct the opening concert of the Prague Spring festival, he suddenly fell ill with viral meningoencephalitis, suffering from amnesia as a result. Luckily, he retained his musical memory and believes that it was what saved him in the end. Although Symphony No. 1 originated in the phase before his illness, Kukal speculates in an interview with Luboš Stehlík about it foreshadowing what was to come later. The symphony was premiered on 12 April 2000 in České Budějovice. In 2005, it was awarded the annual prize of the Copyright Protection Association for Music Rights. The recording on this album is of a performance by the Czech Philharmonic in 2024, conducted by Jakub Hrůša.

Jiří Teml’s Labyrinth of Memory was commissioned by the Czech Philharmonic in 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the premiere had to be postponed and did not take place until 5 February 2025 when the Czech Philharmonic performed it under the baton of Tomáš Netopil to mark the composer’s 90th birthday. Jiří Teml began his musical journey as an autodidact; he studied composition privately with Jiří Jarocha and Bohumil Dušek. For many years, he worked as music programmer at the regional station of Czech Radio in Pilsen and Prague and later on at the Prague studios and collaborated with children’s choirs and folk ensembles. Since the 1960s he has been dedicating himself to the composition of classical music. Jiří Teml is the author of concertos for diverse instruments, including violin, French horn, oboe, organ and harpsichord, and he has written many works for various chamber ensembles, as well as cantatas and several children’s operas. A number of his compositions, including Labyrinth of Memory, are inspired by literature and other extra-musical impulses. Musical ideas surface mysteriously and take unexpected shapes, like memories. A key role is played by the percussions section and the timbre of orchestral is completed with the sound of the piano and celesta. The rhythmically pronounced parts are counterbalanced by calmer passages.