Compact archive January 29, 2008

If you are looking for a city that offers opportunities to listen to good classical music, Prague is the city for you. The concert in Rudolfinum, advised here, is just one of many concerts Prague Rudolfinum offers. Check their web pages for more.

Afternoons in Rudolfinum with Zdeněk Mácal. B. Smetana – From Czech Forests and Meadows, symphonic poem. P. I. Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in F minor Op. 36 “Fate” Performed by : Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor: Zdenek Mácal. Approx 1hr 30mins, start 26th April 2008 – 15:00

When Skoda Auto introduced , during the Christmas season, their skoda-cake advertisement, it was just one of the ads they show to the world. By the way, the British Television Advertising Craft Awards went to this ‘baking’ advertisement.

Skoda advertisements have their place reserved at the web Ads of the Wold, which maps creative ideas, like the one when Skoda inform es they re-plant forests at various places of Earth; “Skoda compensates for the pollution of its cars, reforesting specific areas in the world.” (picture)

The second most well-known Czech product is beer, and the Kozel brand advertisements are recognized by world’s creative minds. Kozel is the beer with the billy-goat in its emblem, and the billy-goat propagates the beer e.g. by presenting ‘beer receipts’ in Finland, or by re-cycling the 3D glasses idea in Russia.

Jewish dances and songs from the Eastern Europe went through a revivalist wave in the last quarter a century. At the beginning there were musicians not from Europe, but from the US. The pioneers were groups like Klezmatics from New York, whose example was followed in the 90’s a whole generation of followers in Europe.

Most of the Amsterdam Klezmer Band repertory has been created by the band members themselves, who all without exception contribute musically to an ever-growing melting-pot of infectious Balkan/Gypsy/Klezmer cross-overs. In this manner the band endeavours to breathe new life into the Eastern European Balkan, Klezmer and Gypsy music tradition.

The members of the Amsterdam Klezmer Band are passionate musicians and well-versed in a wide range of styles. They have made their musical mark on the Dutch and European club and festival scene and are well known for their parts in various other remarkable pop, jazz and world music projects in the Netherlands , past and present.

The Amsterdam Klezmer Band has managed to extract Klezmer from its dilettante ambiance and added a good dose of street credibility, bringing you the pleasure of Eastern European music as it’s meant, because: The Amsterdam Klezmer Band guarantees a spectacular live show at which there is only one option: Dance until you drop.

31sh January 2008, Palac Akropolis, Kubelikova 27, Prague 3.

The new Czech movie Obcan Havel is a documentary movie depicting fifteen years of Havel’s life, in presidential function and after. But it is much more than just a document – when I started watching, I started to smile a little at first, than more, and than I couldn’t help and started to laugh as the rest of the audience in the cinema I went. The Obcan Havel movie is hilarious.

Vaclav Havel in the presidential role entertains by his shyness and impracticability from the first moment. “Where is my suit?”…. “Where the hell do I have my suit?!?” (running around nervously, meanwhile there are important state matters waiting behind the door) or asking his foreign secretary: “How it is possible you have such a nice new red carpet going to your office, and I have the ugly, old, Husak’s gray one, against which I have been fighting for 7 years?” the foreign secretary: “It is not my fault, I don’t understand it and I don’t agree with it.” Havel: “You have lied yourself nicely out of it.” the secretary: “I don’t know anything about it.”

This film is not just a documentary, it is a film full of comedy, carrying a story of the very special and important human being, we now finding out we were lucky to have as a president.

More people go to Prague forests. They want to relax from the noise of the metropolis, but there has never been so many of them.

The recent study of Prague City hall brought quite surprising numbers. Especially those, where Prague forests are compared to touristically attractive Sumava in the South of the Czech Republic. On one hectare of Prague forest 5200 visitors take turns. At turistically attractive Sumava, it is only tens of people.

The most favorite Prague forest is Hvezda park at Prague 6, visited by the same numbers the as the botanical garden in Troja – seven thousand four hundred on one hectare per year.

Prague so started planting of new forests, in supplying of the demand. 100 hectare forest is being planted at Brezineves, another will be planted in Dubec.