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Concerto for octet of soloists (two violins, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, piano and cimbalom) and orchestra — with an expected duration of 20 to 25 minutes — was designed to fit into a conventional symphonic evening (overture — concerto — intermission — symphonic work). The exact programme can be adapted in consultation with the co‑commissioning orchestra to respect its artistic identity.

Kryštof Maratka’s singular writing, inspired with the popular and virtuosic world of the Sirba Octet, produces a piece that is at once accessible, inventive and striking — ideal for a season highlight. The musical language favors dialogue between the soloists and the orchestra, with colours drawn from the traditional repertoire. Folk Theatre, Vagabond Music of Central Europe will be published by Éditions Musicales Artchipel.

The world premiere will take place with the Pau‑Pays de Béarn Orchestra, conducted by Fayçal Karoui, who initiated this commission, in spring 2028 (Palais Beaumont, Pau, France). A tour bringing together the co‑commissioning orchestras is planned for the 2028–2029 season to ensure meaningful visibility for the work, its performers and partners.

“This is a first in the Sirba Octet’s history: commissioning a living composer. Immersion in the popular musics of Eastern Europe has been the common thread of all our programmes since 2003, and these repertoires have always echoed the festive, family atmospheres of my childhood. As a classical musician I remain open to new influences and have often had the privilege of taking part in the creation of contemporary works.
My encounter with Kryštof Maratka was decisive for the direction I wish to give the ensemble. A free spirit in today’s musical landscape, he makes his Czech origins our own. He draws on folklore and language, is inspired by traditional musics from around the world, and opens new paths for musical expression. These fraternal horizons led me to invite him into the Sirba Octet’s world to compose a concerto with orchestra.
New pages will be written for the Sirba Octet thanks to the friendship and support of the Pau‑Pays de Béarn Orchestra, under Fayçal Karoui, who—like the musicians of this ensemble—wants to bring contemporary music to new audiences. The concerto for the Sirba Octet and orchestra will be premiered in 2028. Folk Theatre, of about twenty minutes’ duration, will be programmed as the first part. The major works of the classical repertoire that will complete the concert programme will be agreed in collaboration with the hosting orchestra.”

“Writing for the Sirba Octet is a musical adventure that invites me to draw on the rich varieties of Central European traditional musics and their many expressions: folk song, virtuoso instrumental improvisation, the unusual timbres of folk instruments, vocal idioms and a host of dances.
I hear a singular sonic world taking shape through a modal‑tonal harmonic language whose scent inevitably evokes the flavours of Slavic, klezmer and Roma traditions.
I imagine the concerto for the Sirba Octet as a mosaic of little scenes from an imaginary theatre — carnival‑like atmospheres and popular festive moments expressed through music — that carry the community toward a single essential aim: to give joy and to transform the musical moment into a moving, shared communion.”

Mosaic of Twenty-Seven Fragments of World Music — Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra by composer Kryštof Maratka

Listen to “LUMINARIUM”

« The first time I heard the Sirba Octet — my childhood friend Richard Schmoucler’s ensemble — in 2006, two wishes were born in me instantly: to invite them to perform in the chamber‑music season I was programming, and to have them play with the Orchestra. Two projects followed: Yiddish Rhapsody, a huge success in Pau and at La Cigale in Paris (recorded soon after as an album), and then Sirba Orchestra.
The desire to bring Sirba together with the Orchestra surely comes from the emotional power of this music: music of evening reunions in the village square, music of journeys often forced and endured, music that finds joy despite everything, that moves us to tears which are, necessarily, joyful.
After so many years of faithful and exacting collaboration, it seemed natural to go further and commission a work for Sirba. To create from a story that already contains a thousand stories, to give Kryštof Maratka the full freedom to honour the curiosity of encounters and the richness of otherness.
We are very proud in Pau to have encouraged this creation, which I am already certain will provoke deep and powerful emotions at the heart of Europe and within our souls. »