The Works
A few weeks ago, we mentioned on the show that 2024 has been celebrated as the year of Czech music. It’s been celebrated by an array of concerts and events, featuring not only classical music but other musical genres. Later in today’s programme, we’re joining in by featuring two Czech musicians who visited Hong Kong at the end of last month.
But before heading to the Czech Republic, we’re focusing on a natural material that is quintessentially Asian. In Hong Kong, you’ll most commonly see bamboo used for scaffolding around buildings, for making furniture, or even for steaming dim sum. It can also be a versatile material for artists.
Gustav Mahler was born in eastern Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. On the relationship of Czechs to music, Mahler oncesaid, “Where else can you find a nation that has such a rich musical tradition as the Czechs?” That’s a tradition being celebrated in 2024, in the year of Czech Music, a festival organised once every decade that this year is highlighting the work of Bedřich Smetana, the “father of Czech music”, born exactly two centuries ago. Celebrations in the country, particularly in Prague, have been in full swing throughout the year. Some have even made their way to Hong Kong. In late October, the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong invited two Czech musicians, harpist Kateřina Englichová and oboist Vilém Veverka, to join them in playing some Czech classics.
