Inka Truxová currently works for the National Institute for the Protection and Conservation of Monuments and Sites in Prague as a specialist in historical parks and gardens on the territory of the Czech Republic. Her work is focused on supervising the conservation and protection of historical parks and gardens of the state castles, manor houses, monasteries and historical sites, in particular those designated as National Landmarks. Her lecture will provide an historical introduction of garden’s history in the Czech Republic with examples of the sites - country houses and their parks and gardens. Later she will talk about some particular properties where new important projects have just started, such as UNESCO-listed Kroměříz château complex, Kuks (a baroque landscape with herb garden), unique Veltrusy, an ornamented farm. The lecture will be accompanied by photos of many places and copies of historical plans and other documents.
RECITAL IN LONDON Lada Valešová This event was held on 6th May 2010 in the Embassy of
Slovakia, London.
Lada Valešová, an
outstanding concert pianist, graduated from the Prague Conservatoire and
Prague
Music Academy. Awarded a full scholarship, she continued her studies in
London
at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she is now a professor.
Winner
of several prizes, including two awards at the International Smetana
Piano
Competition, she has played recitals around Europe. Her debut
CD, Intimate Studies, was released in 2009. www.ladavalesova.com
Lada’s programme of Czech music showed the breadth and scope of that
miraculous flood of inspiration which brought the music of the Czech lands to
the forefront of European culture in the 19th and 20th
centuries. Most remarkable was the rich and varied palette of colours she
employed: the tonal variety at her command kept the audience spellbound, and
beautifully lit up the composers’ moods and intentions, which were further
described by her excellent introduction to each item.
From the Chopin- and Schumann-influenced ‘Dumka and Furiant’ by Dvořák,
to the mid-20th century ‘Suite’ Op. 13 by Pavel Haas, we had a
wonderful view of the development of piano music during this most crucial, and
often tragic period of Czech history. Of special interest was an unpublished
work ‘Spring’ by Martinů, only recently discovered, and Janáček’s four-movement work ‘In the Mist’ showed some of his emerging
greatness which would find its fullest expression in his operas.
Lada ended her recital with two encores, Czech folk
tunes on which she improvised. This was a stroke of genius, taking us back to
the roots of all musical inspiration, and movingly bringing the evening to a
radiant close.
LECTURE IN LONDON BY THE ARCHITECT EVA JIŘIČNÁ
This event was held on Wednesday January 27 2010 in the Embassy of the Czech Republic, London.
To
say that Eva Jiřičná needs no introduction is a cliché. But why should this be
when she is just another architect and also one of many Czech émigrés who left
hurriedly in 1968 and who were absorbed into the melting pot of London life?
Instead from near zero she has built a reputation second to none in the world
of UK design. So much so that this has spread to North America and beyond, and
since the Velvet Revolution she has been welcomed back to her ‘home land’ where
her status is one of design ambassador.
In
Northern Europe architecture is preoccupied in part with ‘keeping the water
out’. But Eva Jiřičná, although
acknowledging this requirement, is more concerned with the enjoyment of putting
buildings together, particularly their interiors, in ways that will be passed
onto those who will use them. The materials that she chooses for her buildings
are detailed with a ‘high tech’ delicacy that is derived more form the world of
the jeweller than that of heavy engineering, which seems to be the starting
point for the main stream work of architects such as Norman Foster and Richard
Rogers. To say that she is a ‘designer’ is to emphasise the fact that her work
crosses the boundaries of various design disciplines and is not just concerned
with the fabric of buildings.
It was therefore a
delight to be favoured with a lecture by Eva Jiřičná on her work that was
delivered with disarming candour and modesty. That there was a full house
reflects the interest in her work and the esteem with which it is held both
here and in the Czech Republic. The Friends are very grateful to her for giving
of her time so generously
LECTURE IN OCTOBER 2009: MUSIC AND MINSTRELS
Lecture and music recital by Mary Remnant, with particular reference to Bohemia, held in London on Wednesday, 14th October, 2009. This event included music from his coronation, together with other sacred and secular compositions dating from the time of St Wenceslas to the Reformation. Mary Remnant showed slides of medieval minstrels, accompanying them on reconstructed instruments of the period.
VISIT TO STOWE HOUSE IN JUNE 2009
Visitors were greeted by Anna McEvoy, Visitor Services Manager for the Stowe House Preservation Trust, which since 1999 has leased the House from the School. Richard Wheeler, the National Trust’s Parks and Gardens Curator for the south of England, gave an ad lib talk about the architects of the landscape gardens,Vanburgh, Bridgeman, Kent, Gibbs and Brown. Anna then took us round the State Rooms. After lunch Richard led us round the landscape gardens, which the National Trust has owned since 1989.
LECTURE IN LONDON IN APRIL 2009
Professor Crossley of the Courtauld Insitute gave a lecture in the Swedenborg Society, London, about the medieval heyday of Prague during the reign of the Bohemian King and German Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg.
CONCERT ON 6TH OCTOBER 2008 RAISES £1500
The sympathetic setting of St Cyprian’s Church, Baker Street, was the scene for a memorable recital on 6 October 2008, donated most generously by Martin Škampa, cello, and Michal Rezek, piano, in support of the Friends of Czech Historic Buildings, Gardens and Parks Restoration Fund.
News of our first lecturer
Her Majesty The Queen has appointed Mr Jonathan Marsden, our first lecturer in 2007, to the position of Director Designate of the Royal Collection.The Director of the Royal Collection is the most senior position in the Royal Collection, one of the five departments of the Royal Household.
FUTURE EVENT
