Section Archive Panorama

Pianist Diana Fanning: I want people to know about Leoš Janáček’s piano music

16-05-2013 16:24 | Daniela Lazarová

Diana Fanning, photo: archive of Middlebury College Organized by the International Dvorak Society, the American Spring music festival (April 8th to July 4th) annually brings internationally renowned soloists and music ensembles to a broad audience in the Czech Republic, with concerts and master classes taking place in dozens of towns and villages around the country. Among this year’s performers is pianist Diana Fanning from Middlebury College, Vermont whose recent piano recital featured music by the Czech composer Leoš Janáček. When she visited Radio Prague’s studio shortly after the recital we talked about her passion for a composer whose music many find hard to understand. More

Czech Post diversifying its business interests in the face of an uncertain future

02-05-2013 16:58 | Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Filip Jandourek With the volume of traditional mail severely undermined by electronic communication the Czech Republic’s postal service, Česka Pošta, has seen its profits drop in recent years. Now, newly approved legislation liberalizing the country’s postal services has made matters worse, putting ever greater pressure on Czech Post to expand into new areas of business or bow out. More

Athlete philanthropist runs from Prague to Morocco to support safe drinking water projects

25-04-2013 16:37 | Daniela Lazarová

David Chrištof, photo: Till Janzer In 2012 athlete-philanthropist David Chrištof ran unsupported from Prague to London to raise money for safe drinking water for an orphanage in Uganda. This week he set out on a 3000 km run from Prague to Morocco to bring attention to the world water crisis and raise more money for people not fortunate enough to have this basic necessity. More

Is the Czech media helping give Romanies a bad name?

18-04-2013 16:05 | Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Filip Jandourek A survey out this week has put Romanies at the bottom of the ladder as the least popular minority in the Czech Republic. It is not for the first time that they hold this unenviable position, nor is it likely to be the last. So what makes the Romany minority so unacceptable in the eyes of the majority white population? According to the Czech government agency for social inclusion the media is partly to blame. More

Surveillance camera boom in Czech towns and cities evokes concerns over loss of privacy

11-04-2013 16:28 | Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Kristýna Maková Many Czech towns and cities are filling with video surveillance cameras as an effective way of curbing crime. While many have welcomed the practice, others warn that it could lead to a massive invasion of privacy. More

Hated and admired, Brno’s Orloj lays a claim to fame

04-04-2013 14:05 | Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Pavel Ševela, CC 3.0 license It was meant to be the pride of Brno - the town’s own astronomical clock to rival Prague’s famous Orloj and attract tourists to the Moravian metropolis. Located on the city’s Freedom Square the shiny black six-metre-tall, phallus-shaped clock has attracted praise and insults in equal measure since its unveiling two years ago. As Brno City Hall hoped, it has become the talk of the town but in a slightly different way than expected. More

Local designers look for ways to connect with customers and distributors

28-03-2013 17:19 | Masha Volynsky

Nathan Heilmann, photo: Alan Homolka The Czech design industry got off to a strong start this year with a number of major events being held in March. The annual Czech Grand Design awards were presented earlier in the month and Prague hosted a special edition of the now popular Designblok and the newest Dyzajn Márket. So what is Czech design like and what are its biggest challenges? More

Czechs and Slovaks: long divorced but still close

14-03-2013 15:53 | Daniela Lazarová

Twenty years after their Velvet Divorce the Czech Republic and Slovakia maintain exceptionally close ties. The two countries’ presidents have made a tradition of planning their first trip abroad to the former sister state and the two countries’ governments hold a joint session every year to discuss matters of common interest. In the eyes of Czechs, Slovaks are the most favored foreign minority in the country. But do the close to 100,000 Slovaks living and working in the Czech Republic feel at home here? To find out I met up with Martina Gregorova, a young Slovak who now calls this country her home. I began by asking her how it all came about. More

Council of Europe urges Czech Republic to improve the lot of people with mental disabilities

28-02-2013 16:06 | Daniela Lazarová

Illustrative photo: archive of Radio Prague The Council of Europe last week released a report criticizing the Czech Republic for the way it treats people with mental disabilities. The criticism targeting the living conditions and rights of this most vulnerable segment of the population is not the first of its kind. The Czech authorities have previously come under fire for using caged beds in mental institutions. On a fact-finding visit to the Czech Republic, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks went further, arguing that many of the patients in mental institutions could be living a more dignified life outside of these walls. More

Czechs celebrate 7th annual Marriage Week, but marriage rate still falling

21-02-2013 16:54 | Daniela Lazarová

Photo: archive of Radio Prague Marriage week as a way of celebrating and nurturing the institution of marriage was established in Great Britain in 1996 and has since taken root in ten more countries. At the time of its establishment marriage was the last thing on Czechs minds. The country had recently returned to democracy and young people were on the brink of discovering the world, living a Western life and developing successful careers: everything their parents had been unable to do for four decades. As a result the tradition of marrying at 18 and having a baby within a year or two died a quick death. Marriage, at least marriage before one’s 30s, became an unfavourable prospect and many Czechs who embraced a singles lifestyle found they liked it too much to give it up or no longer knew how to go about changing their life. More

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