Toulky českou minulostí 16 - Triumvirát géniů národní hudby – Hora-Hořejš Petr (2020)

The Triumvirate of the geniuses of national music – this is both the theme and the title of the 16th installment of Wandering Through Czech History. The book captures the life stories of three founders of our modern musical culture. The story of Bedřich Smetana is framed between his more than problematic youth and a tragic end to his life, during which the deaf creator, in an amazing surge of strength, produces his greatest works. Blessed by Bohemia and always grateful to God, Antonín Dvořák must first triumph abroad, particularly in England, for the spontaneous and devout 'countryman' to be noticed and subsequently claimed by the Czechs. And what of Leoš Janáček's fate? As an underestimated creator supposedly of only local, regional significance, he must wait until old age to demonstrate his compositional innovation with the late triumph of his opera Jenůfa. Additionally, the 16th installment outlines the entire history of Czech music. The introductory chapter provides a brief overview from devout Gregorian chants to pre-Smetana music, while the concluding section offers orientation in a brief look at the personalities of Czech musical modernism from the early 20th century (J. B. Foerster, Z. Fibich, J. Suk, O. Nedbal, V. Novák, and others).