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One on OneInternational Radio Day with prize-winning journalist Jan Bednář
The fortunes of journalist Jan Bednář only beginning to unfold when he
was kicked out of the School of Economics after signing the anti-communist
Charter 77 and compelled to work as a night watchman for several years. The
son of a dissident imprisoned for publishing samizdat literature, the
regime was glad to be rid of him when he applied to leave the country in
the early 80s. He went to England and was able to complete his studies in
politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University, from where he
proceeded to join the Czechoslovak service of the BBC in 1985. More
From the ArchivesRadio under the Swastika
In last week’s From the Archives, we heard how German troops marched into
Prague on March 15 1939. The next day, Edvard Beneš, who had resigned as
Czechoslovakia’s president in the wake of the Munich Agreement, and was
in exile in London, told Britain’s Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
that from now on, he would be leading the resistance against the German
occupation. Five months later, war broke out and at the end of 1939 the BBC
began its broadcasts in Czech. More
Sunday Music ShowA tribute to composer Ladislav Simon
Last Thursday, Czech Radio lost one of its most esteemed colleagues and the
Czech Republic one of the major figures in modern music with the death of
Ladislav Simon at the age of 82. His music has been a staple of television,
radio and contemporary classical music for more than half a century and he
was tirelessly involved in the artistic management of some of the
country’s leading cultural institutions, such as the National Theatre,
and the founding of Czech Television and the Prague Philharmonia. More
Current AffairsCommemorative ceremony at Czech Radio building marks 66th anniversary of Prague Uprising
A now famous appeal broadcast from the Czech Radio building on May 5, 1945,
sparked the Prague Uprising. After hearing it on the air, thousands of
people took to the streets to fight the Nazi oppressors. On Thursday,
several events were held to mark the 66th anniversary of the start of the
Prague Uprising, including a ceremony in front of the Czech Radio building. More
From the ArchivesJaroslav Ježek in defence of jazz in 1934
The theme tune for this series is from a song called Aesop and the Ant, and
it was composed by one of the legends of twentieth century Czech music.
Jaroslav Ježek died in wartime exile in New York at the age of just 35. 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
From the ArchivesTraffic jams in 1930s Prague
In the 1930s Prague was a modern city, with a passion for innovation. New
buildings were springing up, celebrating the technology of steel, chrome
and glass, jazz and swing were playing on the radio, and despite the impact
of the world economic crisis, the Czech love of the motor-car was growing
fast. One of the gems in our pre-war archives is a report from 1st
January 1936 on the city's first traffic light. The intrepid reporter is
standing at a busy Prague crossroads, and we hear the traffic roaring
around him. More
From the ArchivesPresident Masaryk takes inspiration from George Washington
Over the next six months we'll be looking at some of the most fascinating
recordings to be found down in the Czech Radio basement. Czech - and
previously Czechoslovak - Radio has been archiving its material since way
back in the 1920s, and has built up one of the richest radio archives in
the world, surviving war, invasion and even a German aerial torpedo in May
1945. We start the series with our very earliest recording, the first
Czechoslovak President, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, talking 79 years ago, on
28th October 1928. President Masaryk was born as far back as 1850, so the
recording really is a bridge to another era.
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