Ars Rediviva


Ars Rediviva was a Czech classical instrumental music group, whose historically-informed performances played a key role in the revival of Baroque music in Czechoslovakia.

Ars Rediviva chamber ensemble

The group was founded in 1951 in Prague by flautist and musicologist Milan Munclinger and his wife, pianist and harpsichordist Viktorie Švihlíková. The original lineup also consisted of two prominent members of the Czech Philharmonic, cellist František Sláma and oboist Stanislav Duchoň.
From 1951 to 1956 Václav Talich collaborated with Ars Rediviva.

Ars Rediviva orchestra, soloists

The band's repertoire consisted largely of chamber music, the works of J. S. Bach ranking high on the list.
Depending on score requirements, the ensemble's size expanded regularly up to the chamber orchestra having mainly Czech Philharmonic instrumentalists as members.

Ars Rediviva collaborated with the Czech Philharmonic Choir, Czech singers, and foreign artists, specializing in performances of Baroque and Classical music.

Ars Rediviva season performances (1954-1994)

In 1954, the ensemble started giving season performances in Wallenstein Pallace, and later in Rudolfinum) in Prague. In four decades, several hundreds of compositions were introduced here, including scores of premiered archive pieces.
Live recordings of Ars Rediviva performances in Rudolfinum are deposited in the .

Repertoire, recordings

Ars Rediviva was the first ensemble in Czechoslovakia to record a large number of works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach's sons, Antonio Vivaldi, Jean-Philippe Rameau, François Couperin, Georg Philipp Telemann, Jan Dismas Zelenka, František Benda, Jiří Antonín Benda, etc..
The ensemble recorded for Supraphon, Panton, Columbia, Ariola, CBS, Orfeo, Nippon, Deutsche Grammophon, Sony, as well as for broadcasting and television companies and film industry.
Jan Tausinger, Ivan Jirko, Ilja Hurník, and other Czech composers dedicated their neoclassical compositions to Ars Rediviva.

Documents, discography