Česká hudba – Reittererová Vlasta (2024)

The author begins the journey through the history of music in the 18th century, the last period when music and its creators were under the patronage of the nobility. The birth of the so-called national schools in music coincides with the national emancipation of the following century, the era of bourgeois salons, but also new nationally defined cultural institutions. To this day, we celebrate great Czech achievements, the establishment of the conservatory, the National Theatre, or the Czech Philharmonic, yet we still underestimate the influence of the national melting pot and the competition of ethnicities within the borders of the Czech Crown on the astonishing development of Czech music. From this fertile ground, several great musical generations drew in the 19th and 20th centuries. Music could rely on functional infrastructure, theaters, concert halls, or cabarets, and musicology and pedagogy developed.

However, Czech music also has its dark side. Since the days of the old-fashioned Prague 'Mozartism' two hundred years ago, progressive tendencies have been clashing with traditionalism. During the times of the Protectorate and the socialist state, it faced cultural and political pressures. Perhaps it is precisely because of these internal contradictions that Czech music is so diverse and internationally recognized.