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Chapter Seven “A Crisis of Modern Music or Audience?” Changing Attitudes to Cultural and Stylistic Pluralism (1925–30)

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Opera and Ideology in Prague
This chapter is in the book Opera and Ideology in Prague
Chapter Seven“A Crisis of Modern Music orAudience?”Changing Attitudes to Cultural and StylisticPluralism (1925–30)The late 1920s were years of transition for the musical community of Prague, asthe last vestiges of the prewar rivalries receded substantially in favor of newalliances. This period also witnessed the rise of a new generation of younger com-posers and critics, many of whose values and aesthetic views bore only a faintresemblance to those of their forebears. During what were perhaps the mostpeaceful and prosperous years of the First Republic, the issue of “national music”lost much of the urgency it had carried in earlier years; only now and then did itstand as a marker by which to judge the latest modernist imports from WesternEurope. Indeed, the attitude in the Prague compositional community at this timetoward modernism was influenced by music from abroad as never before. Not soamong the public: this new open-mindedness became a source of tension betweenartists and audiences, similar to crises in other European cities. Although the ini-tial period of “nation building” had passed for First Republic society, the issue ofthe social responsibility of art, particularly regarding modern or even popularmusic, retained its focus as a priority for the younger generation. Again, the diver-gent views of musicians and their audiences reveals much about the culturalmilieu of Prague in these years: while critics debated the social necessity for mod-ern music, both domestic and foreign, attendance at performances dwindled toan all-time low.For most audience members, both the Czech and the international composi-tions at Prague’s 1925International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM)festival provoked widespread apathy toward foreign influences, reflecting some-what the disappointment in European modernism at the previous year’s event.
© 2006, Boydell and Brewer

Chapter Seven“A Crisis of Modern Music orAudience?”Changing Attitudes to Cultural and StylisticPluralism (1925–30)The late 1920s were years of transition for the musical community of Prague, asthe last vestiges of the prewar rivalries receded substantially in favor of newalliances. This period also witnessed the rise of a new generation of younger com-posers and critics, many of whose values and aesthetic views bore only a faintresemblance to those of their forebears. During what were perhaps the mostpeaceful and prosperous years of the First Republic, the issue of “national music”lost much of the urgency it had carried in earlier years; only now and then did itstand as a marker by which to judge the latest modernist imports from WesternEurope. Indeed, the attitude in the Prague compositional community at this timetoward modernism was influenced by music from abroad as never before. Not soamong the public: this new open-mindedness became a source of tension betweenartists and audiences, similar to crises in other European cities. Although the ini-tial period of “nation building” had passed for First Republic society, the issue ofthe social responsibility of art, particularly regarding modern or even popularmusic, retained its focus as a priority for the younger generation. Again, the diver-gent views of musicians and their audiences reveals much about the culturalmilieu of Prague in these years: while critics debated the social necessity for mod-ern music, both domestic and foreign, attendance at performances dwindled toan all-time low.For most audience members, both the Czech and the international composi-tions at Prague’s 1925International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM)festival provoked widespread apathy toward foreign influences, reflecting some-what the disappointment in European modernism at the previous year’s event.
© 2006, Boydell and Brewer

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Illustrations ix
  4. Preface xi
  5. Notes to the Reader xv
  6. Abbreviations xviii
  7. Timeline of Modern Czech History xxi
  8. Chapter One. Introduction: Nationalism, Modernism, and the Social Responsibility of Art in Prague 1
  9. Chapter Two. Smetana, Hostinský, and the Aesthetic Debates of the Nineteenth Century 14
  10. Chapter Three. Legacies, Ideologies, and Responsibilities: The Polemics of the Pre-Independence Years (1900–1918) 36
  11. Chapter Four “Archetypes Who Live, Rejoice, and Suffer” Czech Opera in the Fin de Siècle 65
  12. Chapter Five. The Pathology of the New Society: Debates in the Early Years of the First Republic (1918–24) 110
  13. Chapter Six. Infinite Melody, Ruthless Polyphony: Czech Modernism in the Early Republic 155
  14. Chapter Seven “A Crisis of Modern Music or Audience?” Changing Attitudes to Cultural and Stylistic Pluralism (1925–30) 191
  15. Chapter Eight “I Have Rent My Soul in Two” Divergent Directions for Czech Opera in the Late 1920s 223
  16. Chapter Nine. Heaven on Earth: Socialism, Jazz , and a New Aesthetic Focus (1930–38) 260
  17. Chapter Ten “A Sad Optimism, the Happiness of the Resigned” Extremes of Operatic Expression in the 1930s 300
  18. Chapter Eleven. The Ideological Debates of Prague Within a European Context 326
  19. Appendix One. Personalia 339
  20. Appendix Two. Premieres and New Productions at the National Theater, 1900–1938 349
  21. Notes 355
  22. Bibliography 389
  23. Index 419
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781580466660-012

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Illustrations ix
  4. Preface xi
  5. Notes to the Reader xv
  6. Abbreviations xviii
  7. Timeline of Modern Czech History xxi
  8. Chapter One. Introduction: Nationalism, Modernism, and the Social Responsibility of Art in Prague 1
  9. Chapter Two. Smetana, Hostinský, and the Aesthetic Debates of the Nineteenth Century 14
  10. Chapter Three. Legacies, Ideologies, and Responsibilities: The Polemics of the Pre-Independence Years (1900–1918) 36
  11. Chapter Four “Archetypes Who Live, Rejoice, and Suffer” Czech Opera in the Fin de Siècle 65
  12. Chapter Five. The Pathology of the New Society: Debates in the Early Years of the First Republic (1918–24) 110
  13. Chapter Six. Infinite Melody, Ruthless Polyphony: Czech Modernism in the Early Republic 155
  14. Chapter Seven “A Crisis of Modern Music or Audience?” Changing Attitudes to Cultural and Stylistic Pluralism (1925–30) 191
  15. Chapter Eight “I Have Rent My Soul in Two” Divergent Directions for Czech Opera in the Late 1920s 223
  16. Chapter Nine. Heaven on Earth: Socialism, Jazz , and a New Aesthetic Focus (1930–38) 260
  17. Chapter Ten “A Sad Optimism, the Happiness of the Resigned” Extremes of Operatic Expression in the 1930s 300
  18. Chapter Eleven. The Ideological Debates of Prague Within a European Context 326
  19. Appendix One. Personalia 339
  20. Appendix Two. Premieres and New Productions at the National Theater, 1900–1938 349
  21. Notes 355
  22. Bibliography 389
  23. Index 419
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