Czech Music | All stories

Mozart's Don Giovanni is one of the best known operas of all time, but how many people know that it was written, in part, in Prague and premiered here in 1787? Mozart had an exceptionally good relationship with the city, where his music was generally far better appreciated than in Vienna, so it is apt that Prague is playing a big part in celebrations of Mozart's 250th birthday this year.

Czech Christmas music has a rich tradition, aptly enough in the land of Good King Wenceslas. He lived over a millennium ago and little or no Czech music from his day survives, but there is plenty from the 16th century onwards.

In Encore this week we look at a new recording of the "Bohemian Bach"; we also review a recording of Smetana's piano music, composed during his time in Sweden, and a CD of the legendary Vaclav Talich with the Czech Philharmonic.

With the leaves turning and All Souls' Day round the corner, there is a hint of melancholy in this edition of Encore. We look at a requiem mass by a Czech composer who certainly deserves more attention, and at a cycle of piano pieces that Josef Suk composed in memory of his wife Otylka.

A new CD brings Dvorak's piano compositions to a broader audience; the Smetana Trio revives Novak's Trio in D minor, and a historic Prague Spring recording is available at last.

In this edition of Encore we find out what led the little known 17th century Moravian composer Gottfried Finger to leave London in disgust; we look at a recording of choral works by Pavel Krizkovsky, one of the key figures in the Czech musical revival of the 19th century, and we enjoy a beautiful and rare recording of Janacek's 'Otcenas'.

In a recent programme we looked at one of the CDs in the 'Gold Edition' of Supraphon re-releases commemorating Karel Ancerl's long stay at the Czech Philharmonic. Here we return to some more in the series.

In this edition of Encore we look at a classic recording of Vitezslav Novak's masterpiece "In the Tatra Mountains", and we also enjoy a few surprises on a re-release of Josef Palenicek playing Janacek.

Even if you have never heard of the Czech artist Alfons Mucha, you will almost certainly have seen his work. He is probably the defining artist of the Art Nouveau period at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the wonderfully lush and expressive posters he designed in Paris - most famously of the actress Sarah Bernhardt - have been reproduced many times the world over. Today Alfons Mucha's works are in the loving care of his grandson John and daughter-in-law, Geraldine Mucha, here in Prague. Geraldine is an accomplished and internationally

If you want to know what a 'serpent' sounds like, or are inquisitive to hear the unusual tones of Smetana's very own five-pedal piano, then the Czech Museum of Music has just the CD for you. We also look at a beautiful recording of harp 'sinfonias' by the 18th century Czech composer, Jan Krtitel Krumpholtz.