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Paul Robeson in Prague: paying homage to Dvořák and socialism
04.02. 2012In last week’s From the Archives we featured Martin Luther King, interviewed by Czechoslovak Radio in 1963. But Dr King was not the first civil rights campaigner to address Czech and Slovak radio listeners. Four years earlier, in June 1959, Paul Robeson came to Prague, to take part in an international left-wing cultural congress. Robeson was a man of many talents – singer, actor, athlete, writer and civil rights activist. He never concealed his sympathies with the communist regimes of the Eastern Bloc, and his political views – combined with the colour of his skin – earned him virtual pariah status in many sections of the US political establishment. This culminated in 1950 when he was refused a passport.
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Dance music diva Jitka Charvátová (aka. Ji)
03.02. 2012Anyone familiar with the Czech electronic and dance music scene will have come across the work of Jitka Charvátová, also known as Ji, the charismatic and talented former singer for cutting edge groups like Skyline and the late Milan Hlavsa’s 1990s band Fiction. In 2010, Jitka reset her career with a highly-lauded new solo album called Feed My Lion, featuring 8-bit, electro pop and elements of hip hop.
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Jaroslav Foglar and his “Rapid Arrows”
31.01. 2012Writer and youth movement activist Jaroslav Foglar left a deep trace in Czech popular culture. Besides more than 25 novels for children, Jaroslav Foglar is also the father of Rychlé šípy, or “Rapid Arrows”, a legendary comics that has earned a following with generations of Czech readers. Persecuted by the Nazis and the communists, the writer also single-handedly founded his own youth organization which, in its heyday, had tens of thousands of members across the country.
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Documentary filmmaker Martin Dušek on why his native region continues to inspire him
30.01. 2012Martin Dušek, who often works with co-director Ondřej Provazník, is a two-time winner of the main prize at the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, the Czech Republic’s most prestigious documentary award. His films “A Town Called Hermitage” and “Coal in the Soul” were both shot in the former Sudetenland in North Bohemia, a border region whose Sudeten German inhabitants were expelled from Czechoslovakia after the war. Martin Dušek ’s latest film deals with his own Sudeten German heritage – in a humorous and provocative way. I caught up the director to speak about why this part of country continues to inspire him and how he discovered his love for making documentaries.
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Hard rock headliners Kabát
29.01. 2012In today’s programme we feature music by the hard rock and thrashmetal group Kabát, who have left a Godzilla-sized footprint on the Czech music scene. To date, the band headed by charismatic frontman Pepa Vojtek, has sold hundreds of thousands of albums and remains a major draw for fans of heavier music.
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Hana Andronikova: mourning a powerful Czech literary voice
28.01. 2012It seems very strange to be talking about the Czech writer Hana Andronikova in the past tense. When she died of cancer on December 20th last year, she was only 44, and until the last months of her life had been at the height of her creative powers. Author of two successful novels, several plays and numerous short stories, she was one of the most versatile younger Czech writers, and will be hugely missed. David Vaughan looks at her life and work.
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‘Adolf Loos – A Private Portrait’ offers readers a unique glimpse into the life of the modernist architect
27.01. 2012In today’s Arts I talk to artist and editor Carrie Paterson about the first English-language edition of a rare and fascinating book originally published in 1936. Written by the third wife of modernist architect Adolf Loos, Claire Beck Loos (Klára Becková-Loosová of Plzeň) it was previously available only in German; the new edition, published by Doppelhouse Press, is called Adolf Loos – A Private Portrait.
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The House of the Black Madonna – home of the only surviving Cubist café in the world
25.01. 2012Nestled between busy Wenceslas Square and Prague’s number one tourist destination, Old Town Square, the House of the Black Madonna houses a small museum of Cubism as well as the only surviving Cubist café in the world – the Grand Café Orient, which was renovated between 2002 and 2005.
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A heart from melted candles: an unusual memorial for late Czech president Václav Havel
23.01. 2012After the death of the former Czech president Václav Havel, thousands of people laid down wreaths and lit candles at impromptu memorial sites across the country. Now, two artists have decided to recycle those candles for an unusual memorial – a wax heart. Dozens of volunteers are currently working on the “A heart for Havel” initiative at a Prague cultural center.
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Pavel Bobek - a Czech country legend
22.01. 2012In this edition of Sunday Music Show, we listen to some of the big hits of Pavel Bobek - one of the country's most popular country and rock'n roll singers.
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Josef Škvorecký – Part 2 – ’68 Publishers and writing in Canada
20.01. 2012In this week’s Arts enjoy Part 2 of our look at the life and work of renowned author Josef Škvorecký, who died at the age of 87 earlier this month. I continue my discussion with respected Czech critic, translator, and specialist in Czech studies Petr Onufer, who talks about how Miloš Forman almost made a film version of The Cowards, Škvorecký’s style as an author and his role as co-founder of ‘68 Publishers.
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Už Jsme Doma
15.01. 2012In today’s edition of our Sunday Music Show we listen to more than 20 years of “avant-punk” band Už Jsme Doma. Though the band has gone through countless transformations in that time, it still remains one of the most innovative sounds on the Czech music scene and a heavy influence for new generations of Czech artists.
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From Karel Čapek to Graham Greene: a Scottish poet’s memories of Prague
14.01. 2012In a recent edition of Czech Books we looked at the Prague-inspired poetry of the Scottish poet, Edwin Muir. But it was not just in his poetry that Muir evoked the atmosphere of the Czech capital. David Vaughan finds out more in this week’s Czech Books.
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Screen Czech 14.1.2012
14.01. 2012In this edition of Screen Czech: just what is it that Czechs like in their movies? That and other questions will be answered by Briana Cechova, the head of the Czech National Film Archive. And, a look back on the one of the Czech Republic’s most famous film directors.
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Josef Škvorecký – Part 1 – The Cowards
13.01. 2012In this week’s Arts we will be looking back at the remarkable life and work of renowned writer, essayist and translator Josef Škvorecký who died earlier this month at the age of 87. The author of novels such as The Engineer of Human Souls was one of the most important in 20th century Czech literature, first making his mark in 1958 with The Cowards. To discuss that book and much, much more in the first of a two-part programme, I met with respected Czech critic, translator, specialist in Czech studies and Revolver Revue contributor Petr Onufer. In Part 1, we look largely Škvorecký’s debut, The Cowards.
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Prague celebrates the Art of Hard Rock
12.01. 2012Hard Rock Café is celebrating its 40th birthday this year with a travelling exhibition of memorabilia relating to the greats of the music world who frequented its many outlets the world over. Entitled The Art of Hard Rock the exhibition, which opens to the Prague public on January 12th at the Dvorak sec contemporary art gallery in Dlouha street, is a collection of musical instruments, paintings and drawings donated by the likes of Jim Morrison, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Frank Zappa, Pete Towshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Paul Stanley, Ringo Starr, Lou Reed and Billy Idol.
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The Museum of Decorative Arts – a must-see destination for fans of Czech design
11.01. 2012Lovers of Czech applied arts and design will find a veritable treasure trove of interesting items, ranging from glass wares to clocks and metal works, in Prague’s Museum of Decorative Arts. Located right across the street from the well-known Rudolfinum palace, the museum is housed in a stunning Neo-Renaissance building. It was one of the last in Prague to be designed in that style. The architect was Josef Schulz, who also was behind the Czech National Museum.
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Lucan portrait of Leonardo da Vinci to be shown at Zbiroh Chateau
10.01. 2012With its rich history and impressive neo-Renaissance architecture Zbiroh Chateau is a big attraction in its own right. In the course of the next two months it will moreover boast a rare exhibit – the Lucan portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, an alleged self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, which has never before been shown outside Italy.
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The Czech "Scumbag X"
08.01. 2012This week’s Sunday Music Show is devoted to a musician going by the name of Xindl X –a musician who combines rap, folk, hip hop, jazz and blues as the mood takes him; a musician whose lyrics are laced with irony and who says he writes protest songs which portray a world without God, morals or love -a world of scumbags of the generation X.
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Artist, mother and teacher – the three lives of painter Tereza Límanová
06.01. 2012Born and raised in Prague, Tereza Límanová captures the city in an unusual way in her paintings. She paints mostly landscapes, but in an abstract and reduced style that may well stem from what she describes as an almost obsessive fear of kitsch. Her latest exhibition “From Colors to Whiteness: From Jinonice to Košíře” is currently on display at Prague 5’s town hall gallery and closes Friday. It focuses on the unusual sights and landscapes of Prague 5, a mostly residential neighborhood far from the golden steeples that most visitors of the Czech capital come to see. During a recent interview at the gallery, Tereza explained how she discovered her love of painting as a child already.
