Zelary

Petr Ostrouchov's music from the film Želary (2003) is being released for the first time as a purely musical soundtrack without dialogues, in a newly mixed and arranged version. The film, directed by Ondřej Trojan, won two Czech Lions (Czech Film and Television Academy Awards) and received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Though twenty-two years have passed since its release, the album's completion was spurred by the recent passing of legendary film conductor Mario Klemens, who conducted the original recordings; the album is dedicated to his memory. Ostrouchov received his first of eight Czech Lion nominations for this score, along with an award from the Karachi Festival (where he "beat" Alexandre Desplat and John Williams in his category).Ostrouchov reflects: "Želary was only my second feature film score. As a beginner, I composed for orchestra under Klemens' guidance. The film's success—the Oscar nomination, my Czech Lion nomination, and Karachi award—seemed unbelievable. The original CD (with film dialogues) has been unavailable for years. This new version presents the music alone, with select songs by the Grunik ensemble from the Beskidy Mountains."