Gustav Mahler and Alexander Zemlinsky together again
June 21, 2026
On Saturday, June 20, a traditional chamber concert took place in the music hall of the Elementary School of the Arts.
The concert opened with a performance by Jan Molva and Hana Molvová, students from the Musice School of Jihlava. They played the Sonata for French Horn and Piano in F major, Op. 17, by Ludwig van Beethoven, as well as the piece *Piangendo* by Sylvie Bodorová, who was personally present at the concert.
The main part of the concert featured sisters Johanna and Miriam Haniková. As of the 2025/2026 season, violinist Miriam Haniková is a member of the first violin section of the prestigious Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Wiener Symphoniker), one of Europe’s leading symphonic ensembles. Pianist Johanna Haniková regularly collaborates as a soloist with prominent Czech orchestras, including the Prague Philharmonia, the Prague Chamber Soloists, the National Theatre Orchestra, the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic, the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, and the Wranitzky Kapelle, among others. The program included *Forest Miniatures* (2023) by Stanley Grill, followed by works by Gustav Mahler and the Serenade in A major for violin and piano by Alexander Zemlinsky. In 1907, Gustav Mahler appointed Zemlinsky to the Vienna Court Opera. Later, in 1911, Zemlinsky became the principal conductor (*erster Kapellmeister*) at the New German Theatre in Prague—an institution where Mahler himself had once worked. After the intermission, the two performers presented the Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major, Op. 120, by César Franck.