Section Archive Special
Markéta Irglová and Marek Irgl: Daughter and father on her Oscar success and much more
In this special programme, we meet the Academy Award-winning musician
Markéta Irglová and, for an unusual perspective on her success, her
father, Marek Irgl. As well as the impact of her Oscar win in 2008, the
subjects discussed include Markéta’s beginnings in music, how bandmate
and ex Glen Hansard has influenced her career, the writing of “Falling
Slowly”, her new solo project, and distance and family ties. More
Carp 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
Stage managing Prague Castle - Zdeněk Lukeš remembers Václav Havel
When Václav Havel came to Prague Castle, it meant a complete upheaval not
only of the old system of governance, but also of the way things were run
at the historical seat of the president itself. One of those who has been
at Prague Castle since the very outset of that period is architect and art
historian Zdeněk Lukeš, who worked closely with Václav Havel on
revamping the castle and shared in the exuberance of the early
administration. Speaking here with Christian Falvey, he recalled working
with Mr Havel in the Civic Forum, the first post-Communist political
movement. More
Václav Havel’s literary agent Jitka Sloupová on his plays, their foreign productions and his image as an author
The late Václav Havel is now being remembered as a great statesman and
human rights advocate. But he was also a prominent literary figure. In
fact, before he became an opposition leader in communist Czechoslovakia, he
was already established playwright whose plays appeared on stages
worldwide. Václav Havel’s literary agent Jitka Sloupová, from the Aura
Pont agency, talks about what inspired his dramas that quickly gained
acclaim both at home and abroad. More
Tomáš Sedláček: Only now we will slowly realise the gift we had in Havel
Continuing our commemoration of the late president Václav Havel we talk
with Tomáš Sedláček, the renowned economist who, in 2001 as a
precocious university graduate, came to work for Mr Havel as an economic
advisor at the age of 23. In a special interview, he began by describing
his first meeting with the iconic figure. More
Václav Havel - 'Guardian Angel'
This play is vintage Havel, his only radio play, dating back to the first half of 1968, when he was at the height of his creative powers. Not long after it was completed, Soviet tanks brought an end to the reforms of the Prague Spring, and for two decades the play was left on the shelf. More
Václav Havel: from "bourgeois reactionary" to president
Václav Havel was born in 1936 into a family that the communists with their
love of labels used to describe as "bourgeois-reactionary". There
is certainly no denying that the family was bourgeois. For several
generations they were one of the wealthiest and most influential Prague
dynasties. Václav's grandfather built the famous Lucerna Ballroom and his
uncle was the founder of the Barrandov Film Studios, which laid the
foundations for the Czech film industry. But in describing the family as
"reactionary", the communists were doing the Havels an injustice. More
Museum of Communism offers foreign visitors a glimpse of life behind the Iron Curtain
On Prague’s Na Prikope street, in the very heart of the city –right
next to McDonalds – is a Museum of Communism. What comes as a surprise to
many locals and foreign visitors is that this private venture is the work
of an American businessman who owns a number of bars and restaurants in the
Czech capital. Glenn Spicker came to Prague 17 years ago, on a wave of
interest in the post communist world. Unlike others he launched a
successful business venture and stayed. As Glenn gave me a tour of the
museum, he explained what made him branch out so far from his field of
enterprise. More
Eva Jiránková - A remarkable life
In today’s Special our guest is the charming Eva Jiránková, born in
1921 to a notable Prague family in the early years of the First Republic.
As a junior, Jiránková was a competitive skier and as a young woman she
graced the covers of popular Czech magazines – something of a charmed
life. But that all that ended in September 1942 when her husband, Miloš
Jiránek, was arrested by the Gestapo, and spent the next years in
internment and concentration camps. More
Laureates of Gratias Agit award on the significance of their Czech heritage
Every year in October the Czech Republic honours those who have contributed
significantly to promoting the country’s good name abroad. This year,
Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg bestowed the annual Gratias Agit
awards on thirteen personalities from around the world to thank them for
their work. On occasion of the country’s national holiday we bring you
the thoughts and experiences of three Czechs who live abroad, but who never
severed ties with their homeland and are proud of their Czech roots and
national heritage. More
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