Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Arts in Prague & the
Czech Republic
Czechs have always been active contributors to the arts, and no trip to Prague
would be complete without a stroll through the city's museums and galleries to
admire the work of local painters, photographers and sculptors. In the evenings,
you'll be spoiled for choice with offerings of classical music, jazz and rock. Two
Czechs, Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana, are household names in classical
music. Czechs are less well known for visual arts, but are still impressive in this
field.
MUSIC
Classical
Classical music has a long, rich tradition in the Czech Republic, and Czechs have
basked for centuries in the reputation that they know good music when they hear it. It
was audiences in Prague, after all, who first 'discovered' the genius of Mozart long be-
fore the listening public in Mozart's home country of Austria warmed up to the com-
poser.
Early classical music was heavily influenced by Austrian composers but began to
develop distinctly Czech strains in the mid-19th century with the Czech National
Revival. As part of this national awakening, Czech composers consciously drew on
Czech folk music and historical legends for their compositions. The best-known com-
poser to emerge from this period was Bedřich Smetana (1824-84). While Smetana
wrote several operas and symphonies, his signature work remains his
Moldau
(Vlatva)
symphony.
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) is the composer that most non-Czechs will have heard
of. He too was heavily influenced by the Czech National Revival, which inspired his
two
Slavonic Dances
(1878 and 1881), the operas
Rusalka
and
Čert a Kača
(The Devil
and Kate), and his religious masterpiece,
Stabat Mater
. Dvořák spent four years in the
USA, where he composed his famous
Symphony No 9
,
From the New World
.
