Return My Ostrava
  I was born and grew up in Prague. I first came to Ostrava in 1997 to rehearse with the Janáček Philharmonic for a concert at Prague castle. My next experience here was also with the Janáček Philharmonic, preparing a programme for the Prague Spring festival. I had to spend quite some time in Ostrava, and I discovered that it is a city of great potential. I had the idea of setting up the Ostrava New Music Days, which eventually grew to become one of the largest projects of its kind in the world.
Ostrava now has an opportunity which rarely presents itself in a large city – the chance to build, in the city centre, a concert hall and cultural institution with global parameters. No other city has such extensive vacant areas right in its city centre. If a modern, bold, multifunctional, milestone structure were to be built in Ostrava, the city will become known throughout the world. How many people knew about Bilbao before Frank Gehry built his Guggenheim Museum, which has now become an iconic work of modern architecture? Hardly any. In the same way, Ostrava has the opportunity to radically change its international image.
Do not underestimate this city! High culture has many supporters in Ostrava – a recent exhibition of early 20th century Czech art attracted 30,000 visitors, far more than it would have done in Prague! The avant-garde concerts at the Ostrava New Music Days are almost always sell-outs. We must grasp this potential, and realise it!