After a year, the ensemble Academia Allegro Vivo returns to Jihlava for the festival.Program:Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) "Milan" Symphony; String Quartet No. 4 in C Major, K. 157 (Milan, 1772)Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) *Souvenir de Florence*, String Sextet in D Minor, Op. 70 (Florence, 1890)

The Lower Austrian festival *Allegro Vivo* is a partner festival to Jihlava’s *Hudba tisíců* (Music of Thousands). The Austrian festival hosts the prestigious European Centre for Chamber Music—a platform where prominent figures from the international performing arts scene meet with young artists from Austria, other European countries, and beyond. The festival’s resident ensemble, Academia Allegro Vivo, strives to combine the highest artistic standards with the sheer joy of music-making, blending the traditional sound of Viennese strings with a modern approach to interpretation. The orchestra’s repertoire spans from the Baroque era to the present day, frequently featuring premieres of contemporary works. They have also produced dozens of recordings.

Austrian violinist, conductor, and producer Vahid Khadem-Missagh (b. 1977) serves as the Artistic Director of the *Allegro Vivo* International Chamber Music Festival in Lower Austria and as the conductor of its resident ensemble, Academia Allegro Vivo. Vahid is a graduate of the Vienna Conservatory, the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, and the University of the Arts Bern (Hochschule für Musik und Theater) in Switzerland. Over the course of his international career, he has performed in leading concert halls across Europe, Japan, and Asia, making his debuts at the Salzburg Festival, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.