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Opera and Ideology in Prague
Polemics and Practice at the National Theater, 1900-1938
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2006
About this book
An overview of the history of the Prague musical community from 1900 until the end of democracy in 1938, with attention to polemics about "Czechness" and "modernism."
This study presents a history and analysis of the Prague musical community from 1900 until the end of democracy in 1938. Opera and Ideology in Prague not only narrates the fascinating history of a local musical community but also reveals much about music and culture in Europe.
The fin-de-siècle period was dominated by the musicologist Zdenek Nejedly's polemics regarding the competing "legacies" of Smetana and Dvorák and the merits of modernism.After Czech independence in 1918, a new generation of musicians accepted modernist foreign influences only with extreme hesitation.
The 1926 Prague premiere of Berg's opera Wozzeck and the ascendancy of a young groupof avant-garde composers changed the cultural climate entirely, providing new ground for the exploration of jazz, neo-classicism, quarter tones, and socialist music. As the Czechoslovak Republic drew to a close, a resurgence of nationalism appeared in the musical expressions of both Czechs and German-Bohemians.
The analyses of operas and tone poems by Novák, Ostrcil, Zich, Jeremiás, Hába, Kricka, and Suk provide a cross-section of musical life in early twentieth-century Prague, as well as a series of interpretations of Czech cultural identity. Populist endeavors such as jazz and neo-classicism represented some of the ways in which composers of the 1930s attempted to regain anaudience alienated by modernism: in this respect, the trends in Prague mirrored those of the rest of Europe.
Brian Locke is Assistant Professor of Music History at Western Illinois University, Macomb. He has written extensively on twentieth-century music, including Czech operatic and symphonic works and Alban Berg's Wozzeck.
This study presents a history and analysis of the Prague musical community from 1900 until the end of democracy in 1938. Opera and Ideology in Prague not only narrates the fascinating history of a local musical community but also reveals much about music and culture in Europe.
The fin-de-siècle period was dominated by the musicologist Zdenek Nejedly's polemics regarding the competing "legacies" of Smetana and Dvorák and the merits of modernism.After Czech independence in 1918, a new generation of musicians accepted modernist foreign influences only with extreme hesitation.
The 1926 Prague premiere of Berg's opera Wozzeck and the ascendancy of a young groupof avant-garde composers changed the cultural climate entirely, providing new ground for the exploration of jazz, neo-classicism, quarter tones, and socialist music. As the Czechoslovak Republic drew to a close, a resurgence of nationalism appeared in the musical expressions of both Czechs and German-Bohemians.
The analyses of operas and tone poems by Novák, Ostrcil, Zich, Jeremiás, Hába, Kricka, and Suk provide a cross-section of musical life in early twentieth-century Prague, as well as a series of interpretations of Czech cultural identity. Populist endeavors such as jazz and neo-classicism represented some of the ways in which composers of the 1930s attempted to regain anaudience alienated by modernism: in this respect, the trends in Prague mirrored those of the rest of Europe.
Brian Locke is Assistant Professor of Music History at Western Illinois University, Macomb. He has written extensively on twentieth-century music, including Czech operatic and symphonic works and Alban Berg's Wozzeck.
Author / Editor information
Contributor: Brian Locke
BRIAN LOCKE is assistant professor of music history at Western Illinois University [in Macomb].
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
vii -
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Illustrations
ix -
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Preface
xi -
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Notes to the Reader
xv -
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Abbreviations
xviii -
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Timeline of Modern Czech History
xxi -
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Chapter One. Introduction: Nationalism, Modernism, and the Social Responsibility of Art in Prague
1 -
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Chapter Two. Smetana, Hostinský, and the Aesthetic Debates of the Nineteenth Century
14 -
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Chapter Three. Legacies, Ideologies, and Responsibilities: The Polemics of the Pre-Independence Years (1900–1918)
36 -
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Chapter Four “Archetypes Who Live, Rejoice, and Suffer” Czech Opera in the Fin de Siècle
65 -
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Chapter Five. The Pathology of the New Society: Debates in the Early Years of the First Republic (1918–24)
110 -
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Chapter Six. Infinite Melody, Ruthless Polyphony: Czech Modernism in the Early Republic
155 -
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Chapter Seven “A Crisis of Modern Music or Audience?” Changing Attitudes to Cultural and Stylistic Pluralism (1925–30)
191 -
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Chapter Eight “I Have Rent My Soul in Two” Divergent Directions for Czech Opera in the Late 1920s
223 -
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Chapter Nine. Heaven on Earth: Socialism, Jazz , and a New Aesthetic Focus (1930–38)
260 -
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Chapter Ten “A Sad Optimism, the Happiness of the Resigned” Extremes of Operatic Expression in the 1930s
300 -
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Chapter Eleven. The Ideological Debates of Prague Within a European Context
326 -
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Appendix One. Personalia
339 -
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Appendix Two. Premieres and New Productions at the National Theater, 1900–1938
349 -
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Notes
355 -
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Bibliography
389 -
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Index
419
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
March 27, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9781580466660
Original publisher:
University of Rochester Press
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9781580466660
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
