Bedřich Smetana Museum

Bedřich Smetana Museum

The Smetana Museum (Muzeum Bedřicha Smetany) in Prague is a museum which is dedicated to the life and works of the great Czech composer Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884). It is situated in the centre of Prague in a small block of buildings right next to Charles Bridge on the right bank of the river Vltava in the Old Town.

The building, which was formerly owned by Prague Water Company, has housed the Smetana Museum since 1936. It is a grand building in the Renaissance style. The main part of the museum exhibits are on the first floor. The upper floors house archive material relating to Smetana, providing a centre for research.

Exhibits include copies of letters, photographs and newspaper cuttings relating to Smetana’s life as well as various possessions including his earbone (Smetana suffered from deafness). There are also folders on music stands which contain material about some of Smetana’s most famous works. The visitor is able to listen to extracts from these works by zapping the required music stand with an electronic baton.

Smetana was the leading Czech composer at a time when Czech Nationalism was allowed to be expressed through the medium of the arts, which had so long been dominated by the official language, German. The Czech people were searching for their national identity and for the first time had the opportunity to perform plays and operas in the Czech language. The embodiment of this movement was the National Theatre which opened in November 1883 with a performance of a specially written opera by Smetana, "Libuše", which deals with the legendary story of the foundation of Prague. His six symphonic poems Má vlast (My Country) describe various aspects of his homeland: its countryside and legends. The second of these tone-poems, "Vltava", is especially popular. The main tune is broadcast over the public address system at Prague’s main railway station.

The museum is open daily except on Tuesdays.

References

“Czech and Slovak Republics” ISBN 981-234-714-3

External links

* [http://www.discoverczech.com/prague/museums.php4]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bedřich Smetana — Porträtfoto von Bedřich Smetana Bedřich (Friedrich) Smetana anhören?/ …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Smetana, Bedřich — born March 2, 1824, Leitomischl, Bohemia, Austrian Empire died May 12, 1884, Prague Czech (Bohemian) composer. He was determined to become a pianist, but his first concert (1847) ended his hopes, and he thereafter taught music, opening two… …   Universalium

  • Czech Republic — a republic in central Europe: includes the regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and part of Silesia; formerly part of Czechoslovakia; independent since 1993. 10,318,958; 30,449 sq. mi. (78,864 sq. km). Cap.: Prague. * * * Czech Republic Introduction… …   Universalium

  • Liste von Musikmuseen nach Thema — Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Musikinstrumentenmuseen 1.1 Allgemein 1.2 Musikinstrumenten Spezialmuseen 1.2.1 Orgelmuseen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Prague — /prahg/, n. a city in and the capital of the Czech Republic, in the W central part, on the Vltava: formerly capital of Czechoslovakia. 1,211,000. Czech, Praha /prddah hah/. German, Prag. * * * City (pop., 2001 est.: 1,178,576), capital of the… …   Universalium

  • Liste der Komponisten-Museen — Die folgende Liste gibt einen Überblick zu den Musikmuseen in aller Welt, geordnet nach Ländern und Regionen. Die Liste erhebt keinen Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Belgien 2 Brasilien 3 China 4 Deutschland 5 Finnland …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste der Musikmuseen — Die folgende Liste gibt einen Überblick zu den Musikmuseen in aller Welt, geordnet nach Ländern und Regionen. Die Liste erhebt keinen Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Belgien 2 Brasilien 3 China 4 Deutschland 5 Finnland …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste internationaler Musikmuseen — Die folgende Liste gibt einen Überblick zu den Musikmuseen in aller Welt, geordnet nach Ländern und Regionen. Die Liste erhebt keinen Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Belgien 2 Brasilien 3 China 4 Deutschland 5 Finnland …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste von Musikmuseen nach Staat — Die folgende Liste gibt einen Überblick zu den Musikmuseen in aller Welt, geordnet nach Ländern und Regionen. Die Liste erhebt keinen Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Belgien 2 Brasilien 3 China 4 Deutschland …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Kunst und Kultur in Prag — Die Stadt Prag zeichnet sich durch ein außergewöhnliches Kulturangebot aus, das von zahlreichen Museen, Galerien und Ausstellungen bis hin zu einem vielfältigen Kultur und Nachtprogramm reicht. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Museen 2 Bildende Kunst 3… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”