From Carnegie Hall to Hawkins: Winter concerts in Czechia for the Netflix era

Prague, long associated with the legacies of Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana, is widening its classical repertoire to include contemporary screen music and crossover programming. Local presenters are increasingly turning to television and film scores to attract new audiences.

The strategy mirrors a broader trend across major orchestras. As reported by CBC News, presenters in North America and Europe have found that soundtrack concerts introduce orchestral music to people who might not otherwise attend.

This winter, Prague’s classical calendar showcases both sides of the shift: on Dec. 8, Duo Atlantis performs a Carnegie Hall debut of a new song cycle by TV and film composer Bear McCreary, and on Jan. 18, a Stranger Things – Music by Candlelight tour brings the show’s iconic score to Prague. Additional Candlelight Concerts by Fever will be held in the Czech capital throughout the winter.

The Stranger Things – Music by Candlelight program will arrive in Prague on the heels of the popular Candlelight Concerts organized by Fever. The franchise has reshaped how casual audiences encounter classical and screen-score music, is also currently organizing concerts in the Czech capital.

The format—string quartets performing familiar soundtracks inside dimly lit churches, museums, or heritage sites—has grown from a Madrid experiment in 2019 into a global series operating in more than 100 cities with over three million attendees.

The concept first gained widespread visibility in 2020, when Instagram feeds began filling with images of churches illuminated by rows of LED candles. Despite early skepticism, audiences turned out in significant numbers, many of them people with little prior interest in conventional classical programming.

“We use data to create original experiences for people based on what they’re already interested in,” says Arielle Hutchinson, project manager for Candlelight Brighton. “Our marketplace already had other events, some of which involved classical music. We saw there was an appetite for it.”

In Prague, Fever is currently organizing concerts at the Four Seasons hotel. Upcoming concerts include tributes to Ed Sheeran and Coldplay (Dec. 13 and Jan. 10), Hans Zimmer (Dec. 19 and Jan. 11), and magical movie soundtracks (Jan. 17). Tickets can be purchased from the Fever website.

The Stranger Things concert will follow the same template. A string quartet and piano will perform acoustic arrangements of Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein’s synth-driven score alongside the series’ prominent 1980s tracks, including The Police’s Every Breath You Take, The Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I Go, and Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill.

The Stranger Things – Music by Candlelight concert will take place in Prague's Bethlehem Chapel on Jan. 18, and the concert will also be performed in Olomouc, Ostrava, Brno, and České Budějovice. Tickets can be purchased from Ticketportal.

Duo Atlantis, comprised of pianist Jack Tyndale-Biscoe and mezzo-soprano Rachel Youngberg Payne, will perform a special Christmas concert at Suk Hall in the Rudolfinum on Dec. 8, shortly after their Carnegie Hall debut.

Their Prague concert centers on 19th- and 20th-century European song, including works by Johannes Brahms (Op. 91), Edward Elgar (Sea Pictures), Ralph Vaughan Williams (Songs of Travel), and Samuel Barber (The Hermit Songs).

The program also includes the European premiere of Dragon’s Blood: A Song Cycle, the first classical work by Bear McCreary, known for scores such as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and God of War.

With text by JD Payne, the McCreary cycle addresses the environmental and human implications of cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, placing contemporary industrial issues inside a traditional voice-and-piano format.

“Music has a special power during the holidays,” says Duo Atlantis' Youngberg Payne. “It reminds us of what we all want to share during this time of year — joy, reflection, and the feeling of coming home.”

Tickets to the Duo Atlantis Christmas concert at Prague's Rudolfinum can be purchased here.