Concert Life in Prague 1918–1938: Musical Agents and Discourses in a Changing Metropolis

Provider: Czech Science Foundation (GAČR), project no. 26-23752S
Duration: 2026–2028
Recipient: Institute of Art History of the CAS
Principal Investigator: Václav Kapsa
Project team members: Anja Bunzel, Milada Jonášová, Pavel Kodýtek, Markéta Kratochvílová, Brian S. Locke, Kateřina Nová, Eva Prchalová, David Vondráček, Pavel Žůrek

The transformation of Prague from a provincial city of the monarchy to a vibrant metropolis of the young state catalysed an unprecedented flowering of musical life in the 1920s and 1930s. While scholars have traditionally emphasised opera as a prestigious genre important in forming national identities, this project focuses on the heterogeneous sphere of concert life. Previous research has primarily centred on the history and repertoire of individual ensembles or associations. This project aims to examine concert life from a holistic view, to identify crucial events and musical agents, and to contextualise Prague concert life within the musical discourse of the time. The project asks how concert life reflects shifting political climates and public interests, including the interplay between different ethnic communities, musical institutions, and audiences. Creating a database mapping selected key events, agents, repertoire, and sources of Prague concert life will enable analysis of its transformations in the changing socio-political landscape of interwar Prague.

Repro: Muzeum Českého krasu, p.o.