Am Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts setzt sich die tschechische Gesellschaft intensiv mit neuen spirituellen Strömungen wie Theosophie, Anthroposophie und Okkultismus auseinander. Durch die Übersetzungen der Werke von Huysmans, Strauss, Nietzsche, Steiner und anderen einflußreichen europäischen Denkern gerät der Katholizismus immer stärker in den Konflikt mit der Moderne. Die Bewegung Katolická moderna versucht in Böhmen den Katholizismus zu erneuern. Zu den Mitarbeitern der Zeitschrift Nový zivot zählen wichtige tschechische Künstlerpersönlichkeiten. Auch die Autoren der Zeitschrift Moderní revue streben eine entsprechende Reform religiös ausgerichteter Kunst an. Die tschechische Musik dieser Zeit widerspiegelt die vielfältige Auseinandersetzung mit den neuen Denkrichtungen. Charakteristisch für die betreffenden Werke ist der Synkretismus in Form einer persönlichen Synthese aus verschiedenen Formen der Spiritualität. In diesem Kongressband werden neben den Beiträgen zu diesen Fragen bislang unbekannte Dokumente zur tschechischen Musik der Jahrhundertwende veröffentlicht und die Rezeptionswege von massgebenden Komponisten der Zeit (Dvořák, Janáček, Hába, Schulhoff, Novák, Martinů) untersucht. At the end of the 19th century, Czech society was preoccupied with new spiritual trends such as theosophy, anthroposophy, pantheism and occultism. The ideas of Schuré, Huysmans, Péladan, Renan, Strauss, Nietzsche, Steiner, Blavatsky and other influential European thinkers were compiled and made available thanks to numerous translations. At the same time, Catholicism was coming into increasing conflict with modernism. One of the attempts at its revival in Bohemia was represented by the movement Catholic Modernism. The contributors to the review Nový zivot (New Life) were distinct personalities of Czech cultural life. The authors of the magazine Moderní revue (Modern Review) strove for reform of religion-oriented arts too. Czech music of that period reflects the multifaceted encounters with the new intellectual trends. Works are characterised by syncretism, in the form of a personal synthesis of various types of spirituality. In addition, the congress proceedings comprise research into hitherto unknown documents dealing with Czech music at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the paths of reception of the foremost composers of the time (Dvořák, Janáček, Hába, Schulhoff, Novák, Martinů).

This book serves as an aid to anyone seeking to perform and gain a deeper understanding of this multi-layered opera, which so trenchantly asks what it means to be human, to love, and to be loved in return.

Famous as the libretto for Antonín Dvorák’s opera of the same name, Jaroslav Kvapil’s poem Rusalka is an intriguing work of literature on its own. Directly inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s famous “The Little Mermaid,” Kvapil’s reinterpretation adds an array of nuanced poetic techniques, a more dramatic tempo, and dark undertones that echo the work of eminent Czech folklorist Karel Jaromír Erben. All of these influences work in tandem to create a poetic work that is familiar yet innovative. Transposed into the folkloric topos of a landlocked Bohemia, the mermaid is rendered here as a Slavic rusalka—a dangerous water nymph—who must choose between love and immortality. Thus, Rusalka, while certainly paying homage to the original story’s Scandinavian roots, is still a distinct work of modern Czech literature. Newly translated by Patrick John Corness, Kvapil’s work will now find a fresh group of readers looking to get lost in one of Europe’s great lyrical fairy tale traditions.

The first systematic assessment of the symphonic style of the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu [1890-1959], tracing the evolution of his musical language and including detailed analyses of all six symphonies. Over the past few decades the music of the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959) has enjoyed a slow but steady rise in popularity, and his six symphonies, written between 1942 and 1953, have now been recorded many times; concert performances are on the increase, too. But Martinu and the Symphony is not only the first book in English intended to help the music-lover to a deeper understanding of these glorious works - it is by far the most comprehensive work on the subject in any language. Each Symphony is examined in turn, the analyses revealing what makes each creation so individual yet also so clearly part of a close-knit family of works and identifying the elements of his melodic, harmonic and instrumental style which produce Martinu's very personal vibrant and organic symphonic manner. Martinu and the Symphony is illustrated with almost 200 musical examples, taken not only fromthe Symphonies but also from his other works for large orchestra. His path to symphonic mastery is examined in unprecedented detail: attention is at last paid to the early orchestral works which, although largely unperformed andunpublished even now, afford fascinating glimpses of the composer to come. A study of the late triptychs The Frescoes of Piero della Francesca and The Parables rounds out this appraisal of Martinus enthralling symphonic and orchestral legacy.

This annotated bibliography uncovers the wealth of resources available to prospective researchers and supports emerging scholarship and inquiry into the life and music of this Czech composer. It includes all secondary sources on Martinu and his music, as well as chronology of his life and a complete list of works.

A study of the role of 'little magazines' and their contribution to the making of artistic modernism and the avant-garde across Europe, this volume is a major scholarly achievement of immense value to those interested in material culture of the 20th century.