Entertainment - Prague and the Czech Republic - page 147

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) is the Czech Republic's best-
known composer. For three years, Dvořák directed the National
Conservatory in New York, during which time he composed his
most famous work, the New World Symphony (Z Nového Světa).
Dvořák's advice to his students was to look for inspiration in
America's own authentic melodies (African American spirituals
and Native American music) rather than in European models.
Dvořák's gentle opera of a water nymph, Rusalka , is considered
by many to be the best Czech opera and is often performed in
Prague's National Theatre. The Dvořák Museum is located in Villa
America, which was once the composer's home (50 Kč, Tue-Sun
10:00-17:00, closed Mon, Ke Karlovu 20, Praha 2, located on map
on page 76, tel. [phone]).
Two other important composers from Czech lands are the
moderns Mahler and Janáček. Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), a Jew
from Jihlava (see page 211), was a pioneer of atonal music. His
best works are Symphony No. 1: Titan and The Song of the Earth,
both inspired by the sounds of the Moravian woods and fields.
Leoš Janáček (1854-1928), the most original and least
accessible Czech composer, was stimulated by language—its
flow and abrupt pauses. He's known for his Symphonietta and
Lachian Dances (Lašské Tance), as well as the opera Cunning
Little Vixen (Příhody Lišky Bystroušky), another perennial in the
National Theatre's repertoire.
experience music in one of Prague's best venues on the night of
your choice. This is especially worth considering if you want to
enjoy classical music in the Municipal House when the Symphony
Orchestra isn't in town—but make sure your concert takes place
in the building's Smetana Hall rather than in the much smaller
Grégr Hall.
The Czech Philharmonic ticket office is at the Rudolfinum,
on the right side under the stairs (250-1,000 Kč, open Mon-Fri
10:00-18:00, and until just before the show starts on concert days,
tel. [phone], www.ceskafilharmonie.cz, [e-mail]).
The Prague Symphony Orchestra ticket office is on the right
side of the Municipal House, on U Obecního Domu street oppo-
site Hotel Paris (Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00, tel. [phone], www
.fok.cz, [e-mail]). A smaller selection of tickets is also
available in the information office inside the Municipal House.
You'll find tickets for tourist concerts advertised and sold on
the street in front of these buildings. Both the Rudolfinum and the
Municipal House also act as chief venues for the Prague Spring,
Prague Autumn, and Prague Proms music festivals (see “Festivals,”
next page).