Markéta Foukalová & Martin Brunner (křest alba)

Singer Markéta Foukalová and composer and pianist Martin Brunner present a new album of Jan Zábrana's poems set to music. This is the first set of poems by an important writer, poet and translator to music on such a scale and as part of a comprehensive project. Jan Zábrana's work is characterized by immense emotional power and masterful work with language, and at the same time is a vital testimony of life in communist Czechoslovakia. The new program premiered at the Rehearsal for Truth festival, the Festival Honoring Václav Havel, in New York and in Vancouver, Canada. The album of songs Zábrana is released on the renowned label Animal Music. Foukalová and Brunner invited two extraordinary instrumentalists - pianist Vít Křišťan (Jaromír Honzák, Dan Bárta, Robert Balzar Trio, Jana Kirschner), in this case playing the Rhodes piano and other keyboard instruments, and guitarist Tomáš Fuchs (Jana Kirschner).

Martin Brunner is a composer, pianist and keyboardist. In his original projects, he collaborates with the most important personalities of the Czech jazz scene. He is one of the prominent progressive composers of his generation, and has released five self-titled albums under his name. He composes music for the award-winning big band Concept Art Orchestra and classical chamber ensembles. He was approached by the Hradec Králové Philharmonic to write a piano concerto for the 800th anniversary of the founding of the city. The soloist at the premiere was pianist Slávka Vernerová. As a sideman, he occasionally collaborates with a number of personalities of the Czech music scene across genres. She teaches composition and jazz interpretation at the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory and VOŠ.

Markéta Foukalová is a singer with overlaps in music and text creation. He often straddles the boundaries of genres from pop, jazz to electronics and contemporary serious music. It is sought after by leading musical personalities and ensembles, such as Michal Pavlíček, Michal Prokop, Jasná Páka and many others. Her home band is Lanugo, with whom she is preparing her fifth record. In 2025, she released a debut album under her own name called Jinak. She teaches singing at the conservatory and leads the successful children's choir Beznot.