The Profile of Ivan Martinek

Ivan Martinek graduated from the University of Chemical Technology in Pardubice and got from chemistry to fireworks through theatre - thanks to his collaboration with Petr Scherhaufer from Theatre on a String. For him he started to create, at first stage effects, then also fireworks. In 1987 he founded the fireworks group Theatrum Pyroboli, and in 1998 he was a founding member of the Ignis Brunensis festival, held on Kraví hora at the time.

Martinek had a great deal of respect for the audience in Brno. One of the reasons was that they liked to read about the fireworks in advance and wanted to understand the author's idea, and he was pleased that they showed emotions during pyromusicals. "It is important to like fireworks. It is necessary to open your heart and accept all the sensations. The emotions of the audience are welcomed by the creators. When tens of thousands of people react to an effect and the crowd cheers loudly, it is a very pleasant feeling. Every fireworks creator is delighted when the people like his child," he told the audience in interviews.

The designer was inspired to create pyromusicals by the environment for which he created them and the music he chose, be it classical music or film soundtracks. Martinek has always done his best to elevate the technical world of fireworks to an art form, writing librettos and scripts for his shows, and even staging the first Brno fireworks display with a live orchestra.

Martinek created the last fireworks for Ignis Brunensis in 2022 – the overture and the competition fireworks called A Labyrinth of Human Lives. Ivan Martinek, a fireworks designer who made an indelible mark on the festival's history, retired to fireworks heaven in November 2023.