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From the ArchivesJaroslav Jezek in defence of jazz in 1934
Jaroslav Jezek, who died in wartime exile in New York at the age of just
35, is one of the legends of twentieth century Czech music. He is best
known for the songs he composed for the famous pre-war satirical cabaret,
the Liberated Theatre, and he was also one of the pioneers of Czech jazz,
fearlessly crossing the borders between popular and classical music. In
November 1934, the young composer – he was 28 at the time - came into the
radio and talked about jazz. More
MailboxMailbox
Today in Mailbox: where to find Radio Prague frequencies, cycling in Prague
and the Czech Republic, a 1930s song featured in the film Tmavomodry svet,
plus a fresh new quiz question. Listeners quoted: Henry and Evelyn Holec,
Lipa, Mike Bruce.
More
SoundCzechClothes make a man
You're listening to SoundCzech - Radio Prague's own Czech language series
in which you'll learn useful phrases through song lyrics. Today we'll hear
a song from the 1930s by the comedians and playwrights Jan Werich and
Jiri Voskovec, with music by Jaroslav Jezek. It is called "Saty
delaj cloveka" which incidentally, is the phrase we are
going to learn today.
More
MailboxMailbox
Today in Mailbox: Music on Radio Prague. Listeners quoted: Pat Barry,
Canada; Jacqueline Berting, Canada; Georgine Nadeau, Canada; Mukesh Kumar,
India.
More
Current AffairsVoskovec and Werich: a fruitful cooperation that continued across the Atlantic
In the 1920s and 30s the actors Jiri Voskovec and Jan Werich became
legendary for their bitingly satirical songs that parodied the politics of
the time in the tense years leading up to the war. Their "Osvobozene
divadlo" - or "Liberated Theatre" - is remembered and loved
to this day. During the wartime occupation the two men escaped to America,
but then their careers took very different directions. Werich returned
home, and took roles in several well-known films of the 50s and 60s, while
Voskovec decided to stay in the States. Against the odds and despite never
shaking off his Czech accent he had a successful Hollywood career.
Smuggling their letters past the censors, the two men continued to write
to one another across the Iron Curtain, and in a way this correspondence
was a continuation of their fruitful earlier literary cooperation. Now,
for the first time, some of the letters have just been published.
More
MailboxMailbox
Today in Mailbox: post-war persecution of ethnic Germans, politicians'
infidelity, Czech jazz music. Listeners quoted: Rudolf Pueschel, Karin
Roos, Pat Barry.
More
Czechs in HistoryJaroslav Jezek: 100 years since the birth of a Czech musical legend
This week marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jaroslav Jezek, a man
whose musical compositions from the late 1920s and 1930s have stood the
test of time. Critics agree that Jaroslav Jezek belongs to the canon of
the First Czechoslovak Republic, and his short life mirrors that of many
of his artistic contemporaries: educated in Prague during the interwar
era, Jaroslav Jezek achieved fame in his homeland before being forced to
flee Czechoslovakia with the advance of the Nazis in 1938, and he spent
his last years in exile in the United States.
More
Czech MusicEncore: From the Blue Room to the meaning of life - two very different modern Czech composers.
Today we enjoy a CD of works by Jaroslav Jezek. He was a Czech composer of
the inter-war period who made a huge impression on Czech musical culture,
and this recording features his own piano, still in place in Jezek's
famous "Blue Room". We also engage in some "Philosophical
Dialogues" with contemporary composer, Oldrich Korte, whose works
confront some of the basic questions of our existence.
More
ArtsVoskovec & Werich - enduring symbols of pre-war Czechoslovakia culture
The great Czech actor and comedian Jan Werich was born 100 years ago this
past Sunday. Together with his life-long friend and long-time acting
partner Jiri Voskovec (also known as George Voskovec) - who was just a few
months younger - he made the so-called "Liberated Theatre" of
the
1920's and 1930's famous — it remains an icon of pre-war Czechoslovakia
culture. Voskovec and Werich were pioneers of avant-garde theatre, but
also gifted comedians, singers and writers. More
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