Bohemia and Moravia have produced many famous
composers and musicians. Bedrich Smetana (1824-84), the father of Czech
classical music, described the country in music in his epic tone poem Má
Vlast (My Fatherland). Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904) brought
Czech folk music to international attention by performing at Carnegie Hall,
New York, in 1893. He is especially remembered for the Slavonic Dances
and the New World Symphony. Leo Janácek (1854-1928) used traditional
folk music in his operas and choral works. The Czech Republic is also renowned
for producing high-quality stringed and wood instruments. Lutes and violins
have been made in Bohemia for centuries. |
Bohemian
handmade crystal is world-famous. Glass workers today use many of the same
techniques as their ancestors did 600 years ago. |
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The Czech puppet theatre is not just for children.
The art is passed down from generation to generation, and many families
have a collection of traditional marionettes. Charles University offers
a degree in puppet direction. The shows, especially those at Prague's National
Marionette theatre, are favourites with Czechs of all ages. Children love
watching Spejbl and Hurvínek, a puppet duo.
The book Good Soldier vejk by Jaroslav
Haek (1883-1923) exemplifies the Czech sense of humour. The book describes
the adventures of a soldier in the First World War and his run-ins with
authority. The story symbolizes the struggle of every individual against
power and bureaucracy. |
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One of the country's most famous writers is Franz
Kafka (1883-1924). He was born in Prague but wrote in German. His books,
including The Trial, The Castle and Metamorphosis,
are about individuals trying to deal with inexplicable events. Even people
who have never read his work understand the word "Kafkaesque," which means
absurd or nightmarish.
Milan Kundera and Václav Havel are
contemporary writers who have described life during the Communist regime.
Kundera's novels, including Life is Elsewhere and The Unbearable
Lightness of Being, have been translated into many languages and several
have been filmed. He now lives in France. Havel, the current president,
is a playwright who was imprisoned by the Communists in the 1970s. |
Milo
Forman is a Czech film director who won an Oscar for One Flew Over
the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975 and Amadeus (1984), which
he filmed in Prague. |
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During
the Communist regime, the novels of Milan Kundera were published in Czech
in Toronto by Josef kvorecký, a Czech novelist who came to Canada
in 1969 and founded a Czech publishing house called 68 Publishers. |
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