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Magazine
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Quarterly Magazine on the Czech Section - Expo 2005 Aichi, No.4 April 2004EditorialLadies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends, With the arrival of spring also comes the latest issue of our quarterly magazine, which this time is focused on the Prague Spring International Music Festival. Classical music, whether as interpreted by Czech musicians or in the compositions of Czech composers, is very popular in Japan. Almost everyone in Japan knows who Dvořák, Smetana and Janáček were and the Czech Philharmonic has wide circle of fans in Japan, many of whom unhesitatingly travel hundreds of kilometers to see one of the Philharmonic's concerts. This year's Prague Spring festival will be special because one of the orchestras that will be playing for Czech audiences is the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra. And so the Czech Republic and Japan – the host country for Expo 2005 – will be linked the by universal language of music. moreThe Czech National Day at Expo 2005 in AichiCzech culture, and in particular Czech music, is one of the areas where Czechs have achieved the highest accolades on the international scene. It has created for itself such a strong position in Japan over the past century that Czech musicians are on Japanese stages virtually non-stop. For this reason it was an obvious choice to present the best of Czech music from the past three centuries at Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan. The ideal opportunity for such a presentation is clearly the Czech National Day, which will be held on June 24, 2005 in three of the exhibition ground's halls: the Expo Dome (the opening ceremony and closing gala concert that evening), the Expo Hall (a chamber jazz concert) and the Global Commons 4 Event Space (children's choir and a folklore group). moreThe Region of South BohemiaSouth Bohemia is the second largest of the Czech Republic's regions and is primarily known for the beauty of its natural environment (ponds, rivers and forests), its traditional folklore, a unique collection of historical monuments and delicious beer. The best known nature spots are the Šumava Protected Landscape Region, the Šumava National Park and the Třeboň and Blanský Forest Protected Landscape Regions as well as many others. moreA History of World Expositions – Part IV "Montréal 1967"A World's Fair was held in New York City in 1964 and 1965. Its organizer, Robert Moses did not keep to the BIE protocol from 1948 (he collected fees from foreign countries who wanted to exhibit, he did not keep to the one year limit for international expositions and ignored the fact that United States was only entitled to hold an exposition ten years after the 1962 "Century 21 Exposition" in Seattle, Washington) and for that reason the New York World's Fair was not sanctioned by the International Bureau of Exhibitions (BIE). This discouraged many countries from participating – from Europe, only Franco's Spain had a pavilion. Because of this dispute, there was a concern that the United States would not take part in Montréal. Another danger was the deficit that New York World's Fair finished with. The Canadian government had asked the BIE to sanction their exposition in 1960. But then the Soviet Union came with a proposal to hold an exhibition in Moscow to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Great October Revolution. This collision was resolved in favor of the superpower after tumultuous voting in the BIE. It was only after the Soviet Union withdrew, that the Montréal organizers finally (in November 1962) received the go ahead. The first general commissioner Paul Bienvenu resigned his office after only eight months. It was then that the enterprising Pierre Dupuy took over, and preparations picked up speed and thanks to him 61 countries participated in the exposition. Another important figure in organizing the exposition was the mayor of Montréal Jean Drapeau. moreCzechs at World Expositions – Part IVDr. Ladislav Turnovský, the Chief Departmental Councilor for the Ministry of Industry, Business and Trade, was the General Commissioner for Czechoslovak participation at the Chicago World's Fair, which closed on October 31, 1934. He was also responsible for preparations for Czechoslovak participation at the "Exposition Internationalle et Universelle de Bruxelles" in 1935. The preparations were under severe time pressures and a massive effort to finish on time was made – the wooden construction of the pavilion was erected by workmen under the personal direction of Bedřich Sirotek, the manager of the construction firm, in only five weeks (April 20). The interiors were completed on May 10 and the exhibits were installed in only one week. Nevertheless, the pavilion was only officially opened on May 18. The reason for the delay provided by the pavilion's director Soumar was almost tragi-comic: "If the Brussels exposition was to open on May 1, not all the pavilions could be open at that moment because individual pavilions, Belgian and foreign, were always officially opened with a certain delay in order to make the program more interesting and to increase the exposition's attractiveness." Not even his buckpassing conclusion, that "Czechoslovakia opened its pavilion... before France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary," could alter the sad facts of the time. morePrague Spring 2004This year's 59th Prague Spring International Music Festival will be marked by a great celebration of Czech music that is traditionally associated with years ending in the number "4." This year marks three important anniversaries of figures whose names are inextricably associated with Czech music and culture throughout the world: the 180th anniversary of the birth and the 120th anniversary of the death of Bedřich Smetana, the founder of Czech national music, the 150th anniversary of the birth of Leoš Janáček and the 100th anniversary of the death of Antonín Dvořák. The works of these composers will feature prominently in the program for this year's Prague Spring. moreA Conductor's Calling Card - Hideaki Muto and his "fateful" Dvořák symphonyOn Sunday, May 23 at the first of two concerts by the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra to be held as a part of this year's Prague Spring, it will be Hideaki Muto standing behind the conductor's lectern in the Smetana Hall. Muto is a native of Nagasaki and a graduate of the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, where he studied with the doyen of Japanese conductors, Hideo Saitoa. For many years Hideaki Muto has had close ties to Czech musical culture resulting from both an intimate relationship with its music and friendly contacts with many Czech performers. moreThe Czech ComicsComic books are a specific form of cultural expression whose historical home is England. At the present they are most popular in the United States, Western Europe and Japan. moreThe First Czech Travelers in JapanIt was as a student of Japanese studies that I, like many others, fell under the spell of dusky second-hand bookstores for it was there that I was often able to find books about Japan. They were printed on high-quality paper, accompanied by intaglio photographs and illustrations and always well bound. I was amazed to discover how many books – and the high quality of their bookbinding – about Japan were published here in the past. In this article, I would like to focus on at least a few of them. moreIce HockeyThe Japanese have their beloved sumo, the Brazilians love their soccer and Scandinavians are crazy about ski racing. But in the Czech Republic one of the most popular sports is ice hockey. This sport's history in this small country in the center of Europe is very rich. Any true fan knows the names Dominik Hašek, Jaromír Jágr, Patrik Eliáš, Ivan Hlinka and Václav Nedomanský. Generations of outstanding individuals have created a world-wide phenomenon known as the Czech school of hockey, and together they have created a unique collection of successes. moreJETRO PragueJETRO (Japan External Trade Organization) is the Japanese government agency for the support of trade and investment. It was established in 1958 and although its role has changed over time, it today has four main goals: supporting foreign investment in Japan, supporting Japanese investment abroad, and supporting trade in both directions, i.e. imports and exports. moreShimano - From Karviná to EuropeThe city of Karviná is located in the northwest corner of the Czech Republic almost on the Polish border, in the historical region of Silesia. This area was long known as the "steel heart of the country." Coal mining was begun in the area around Karvina in 1776. From the second half of the nineteenth century on, related fields of industry such as coking and smelting experienced frenetic growth. For many generations life in this area was tied to the coal mines, iron smelting and heavy industry. moreCzech companies are interested in the Japanese marketCan you introduce us to CzechTrade? Let Us PresentGeneral Commissioner's Advisory Board more |
