Near the city of Kolín lies a small village known as Býchory (only 7 km northeast). In this village, sits a unique a Neo-Gothic castle chateau estate. Today we are going to call the Býchory chateau, the castle of the Stradivarius violin because it was once owned by world famous Bohemian violinist and composer, Jan Evangelista Kubelík. I suggest that...
Nové Struny are a Czech band made up of a younger generation of men who bringing back classic Czech tramp and swing music with a modern spin. Every Czech knows the nostalgic country sound that awoke and inspired feelings of freedom and patriotism back in the communist era. This campfire music, known as “Tramp music”...
Czech songbook covers have a very special place in my heart because of the artwork which is always apparent. Be it the drawing or illustration or the distinctly Czech layout of text, I feel like each one is a unique treasure. Today I am sharing some of my personal favorites, and where possible, links to...
The lovely Jarmila Kšírová was a very talented Czech Opera and Operetta diva. She was born December 29, 1910 in Prague and died on November 27, 1983 in East Berlin. With her singing talent and natural beauty, she reaped success all over Europe. Like many other gorgeous Czech women, her natural beauty and attractiveness is...
A very talented band of 4 professional cellists, prize winners of many international competitions – the Prague Cello Quartet consists of members Jan Zvěřina, Jan Zemen, Petr Špaček, and Ivan Vokáč. We first discovered them when we were working on the 2Cellos fan book (Cellogirls) and we found them to be just as amazing and interesting!...
In today’s post, I am sharing the song Krysař (the Pied Piper) by Waldemar Matuška. Click to play the video and read the lyrics I have translated for you below. After that, I’m sharing information about a Czech film of the same name by Jiří Barta. Krysař, which means “The rat catcher”. First, the lyrics in Czech Měl...
The Heligonka or Helikónka (in Slovak: Heligónka) is a Czech and Slovak musical instrument similar to the Melodeon or Alpine Steirische Harmonika. The actual history of this instrument is unknown, as is the exact individual enterprises where the production began. (The Novak company was created in the year 1874 – and they produced the steirische...
Karel Gott and Waldemar Matuška, Waldemar Matuška and Karel Gott… What can one say in one post about these two amazing Czech icons in the musical world? Like many, I grew up listening to the music and watching the films of these two quintessentially Czech musical giants. Respectively, they are the light and dark, the...
TresBohemes receives many letters from all sorts of Czech and Slovak artisans, photographers, business owners, musicians, and others who want to connect with other Czechs or let the world know about their offerings. Today I have decided to share such a letter in hopes that the right set of eyes reads it and we can...
The sound of beat music broke out in Prague sometime around late 1965, 1966 and 1967. During this time there was a cultural explosion unparalleled in Eastern Europe. There was a favorable political environment, after Soviet demilitarization and the release of political prisoners, culminating in the appointment of Dubček as secretary general of the Czech Communist...
With title roles such as Carmen, Aria, Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Rusalka, Šárka, etc. her voice dominated the Národní divadlo (National Theatre) in Prague for decades. But had she not discovered her voice, Czech opera singer Štěpánka Štěpánová may have had an entirely different life. Born in Bielsko (Poland) on December 13, 1906, she attended grammar school...
Amazingly, it did happen. A (Československý) Czech Woodstock or (Slovenský) Slovak Woodstock was actually called the Koncerty mladosti, or the Concert (Festival) of Youth. But this was 1976, 1977 and Czechoslovakia was under communist rule. In fact, at the time it was regarded as a satellite state of the Soviet Union. And we all know that the...
Vilém Zitek was a Czech opera bass singer, known the world over and the first ever national artist. Zitek was perhaps the greatest opera singer in 20th Century Czechoslovakia. He was born in Prague on September 9, 1890 and died in Prague on August 11, 1956. He was originally apprenticed to work as a mechanic; but...
You may want to begin today’s post by listening to this lovely song performed by an aging Rudolf Antonín Dvorský (3+ minutes). This is the last recording of R.A. Dvorský. In fact, the lovely film clip was created on June 21, 1966, and shortly thereafter, on August 2, 1966, Dvorský died. Today we honor his lovely...
