Collegium 1704

The historical-performance ensemble Collegium 1704 has been at the forefront of the early music scene in Eastern Europe since its founding in 2005. The group has championed the music of composers Jan Dismas Zelenka and Josef Mysliveček and is named for the year in which Zelenka came on the scene in Prague, but it has also given notable performances of music by Bach, Handel, and other composers from Western Europe. The moving force behind Collegium 1704 and its associated vocal group, Collegium Vocale 1704, is harpsichordist Václav Luks. In 1996, Collegium 1704 released the album Zelenka: Composizione per Orchestra. Luks, who has remained an enthusiastic player of small-ensemble music, issued a set of Zelenka ensemble sonatas with players from Collegium 1704 in 2017. In 2022, Collegium 1704 issued a historically oriented performance of Smetana's Má Vlast.