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Current AffairsSurvey finds garbage, graffiti and poor system of cycling routes negatively impact Prague life quality
Air quality, the unemployment rate and the cost of public transportation
– many factors influence the perceived quality of life in urban spaces. A
fresh survey suggests that there is much left to improve when it comes to
the quality of life in the Czech capital, with the most-cited nuisances of
Prague residents being garbage and graffiti. By contrast, public
transportation is viewed as adequate and fairly priced by most. More
SpecialCarp and Carols with the Nightingales
A few days ago David Vaughan went to meet the Slavíčci – or Nightingales – one of Prague’s best-known children’s choirs. He talked to members of the choir about the rich tradition of Czech Christmas music, about why you might find yourself sharing your bath with a carp in the days before Christmas Eve, and what it’s like to sing beneath the towering Gothic vaults of Saint Vitus’ Cathedral. And, of course, the choir also brings us some of the best loved Czech carols, recorded especially for Radio Prague. That and more, in Radio Prague’s special Christmas Day programme. Happy listening. More
Sunday Music ShowProtest singer Karel Kryl - an influential voice in Czech folk music
In today’s edition of our Sunday Music Show, we listen to music by the
legendary Czechoslovak folk singer Karel Kryl. He became one of the
country’s most important protest singers with his famous 1968 song
“Bratříčku zavírej vrátka,” and his tunes continue to be played in
the Czech Republic to this day. More
SpecialGood King Wenceslas meets the Beatles on the Feast of Stephen
A good few years ago I used to live in a tiny flat in an old house called
the Mouse Hole, which was just off the ancient street that runs along the
bottom of the park below Prague Castle and the cathedral. In winter I used
to go out to the park to collect kindling to help get my sluggish
coal-fired stove to draw. On one occasion it had been snowing heavily and I
traipsed out through deep drifts. Ever since then I have always had a very
specific picture in my mind of the Victorian carol about the Czech patron
Saint, the tenth century Prince – or King - Wenceslas. I like to imagine
the Good King standing at one of the windows of the castle looking down and
spotting the poor man in the snow – in this case me – struggling with
an armful of branches. More
SpecialCzech carols from Christmas past and present
Christmas is not Christmas without music, and on this occasion we will be
sharing with you some of the rich spirit and history of Czech carols, some
from Christmas past and some from Christmas present.
More
Music ProfileKarel Kryl – the Czech "poet with a guitar"
The Czech folk singer Karel Kryl is the subject of this edition of Music
Profile. His well-known debut album “Bratříčku, zavírej vrátka”
was published six months after the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia
which crushed the Prague Spring in 1968. A year later, he emigrated to
Germany. He worked for Radio Free Europe in Munich, where he died in 1994.
Kryl is considered one of the most important figures of the anti-communist
movement.
More
One on OneRapper Vladimir 518 on graffiti, architecture and hip hop
The music of Vladimir 518 has been a staple of the Czech hip hop scene
since it started in the 1990s. Now he has taken his music to a unique
performance called Spam that uses cutting-edge video arts to honour
architect Karel Prager. Prager was the mind behind some of the most
marvelled at and most despised structures in Prague, including the
National
Theatre’s New Scene building, where the show was held. At the beginning
of a wide-ranging interview I asked him why he had chosen the
controversial
designer as the theme for this latest production. More
PanoramaKarel Kryl, writer of ‘political love songs’, remembered 15 years after his death
Karel Kryl is considered by many to be the greatest Czech folk singer ever
to have lived. He was the voice of a generation, with this song -
‘Bratříčku, zavírej vrátka’ - becoming an anthem of protest
against the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. Kryl, who died
15 years ago this week, continues to enjoy a massive popularity in this
country. One of the first people to spot his talent was DJ and music critic
Jiří Černý:
More
MagazineMagazine
Doctors are trying to get Czechs to eat carp all year round, not just at
Christmas. Political opponents raise their voices in song together, and
over 100 hardy Czechs prepare to jump into the Vltava river on New Year’s
Day. Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.
More
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