Structured Excursions

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This page provides a synthesized description and reflection on events and places visited as part of our structured class excursions. These are places, including museums, tours, and concerts that we visited in order to better understand the musical cultures of Prague and gain an understanding of Czech music. The places and events contextualized our experience in Prague by giving historical background and real-world experiences. These excursions go in conjunction with our class themes, often linking back to ideas of identity, myth-making, traditions, and more.

Smetana Museum

By: Laura Sarafinas

To begin, first walking in brought you to a display of the composer's early years. Although the angled diamond layout of the structure was highly inconvenient to walk through and not maybe people enjoyed this aspect, I was certainly drawn to it. In the middle was a glass encasing of Smetana's glasses and his wife's ruby jewelry. Walking past this first section brought you to a piano and more informational panels. What most people found difficult about this was the amount of information that was being thrown at us. Words and pictures basically filled the museum going practically up to the ceiling and it did not help that all of the words were in Czech. For the group that we were, a lot of it was difficult to digest since we do not speak the language or understand the sheet music and the composer's notes on said sheet music. A lot of the writing was also small so it did not stand out to the eye. Although a good experience, I think the museum was a little too sophisticated for our group. I think we were a little bit lost and felt unprepared going into it. The view certainly made it look like the museum was in a prime part of town, but as someone pointed out, the building wasn't exactly easy to find or get to. My guess is it used to be a prime part of town but as the spot became more tourist-y next to the Charles Bridge, shops and restaurants were built in to accommodate and the museum got lost in all of it. The sophistication and higher class feel of the Smetana museum also made it seem like he existed as a mythic figure. We felt like Smetana was more of a mythical figure than someone like Dvorák.

Dvorak Museum

By: Levi Wenger

The Dvorak Museum is contained in a single building with two floors. The outside of the building is decorated in a pristine way which is common with a lot of other buildings in Prague. There are also a couple of statues outside of the museum as well as some orderly flowers and shrubbery decorating the lawn. Directly inside the museum is the reception and right after that to the left is a room where there are several displays scattered around the room, especially on the outside of the room. These displays contain much information about the life of Dvorak and included pictures and objects that were correlated with his story.

To the right of the reception desk is a winding staircase that leads to the second floor. The majority of the second floor is occupied by a large room with ordered chairs and a screen at the end of the room for showing a documentary about the life of Dvorak and his many accomplishments. This film is about 30-40 minutes and contains everything you could possibly want to know about Dvorak. Around this main room are positioned various displays, albeit less concentrated than on the first floor. Attached to the main room on the second floor is a smaller room with more displays and two places to listen to some of Dvorak's music.

On both levels of the building, the ceiling and walls are decorated and painted such that it looks like you are in a luxurious old-style room. This adds to the historical significance of the information that you learn from this museum as it provides a glimpse of what the buildings and rooms of this time looked like. Furthermore, the displays in this museum were a lot more textual and less visual than a number of the other music museums that can be found in Prague including the Smetana Museum and the Czech Museum of Music.

Janacek Museum and Walking Tour

By: Quinn Rivers

We started our tour by walking into Janacek's home and watching a few videos about his life and who he was as a person. The short videos were neat to watch but were fast and not as educational as I'd hoped. I noticed that Janacek and Dvorak both had their museums in their homes. When the videos were finished playing, the guide told us some further information about the composer. It was hard to hear the tour guide when we were in the starting building because there was loud music of Janacek's work playing while she was talking. We were then taken to a room with pictures of him and some of his belongings. There were three books about him on display; the other exhibits didn't have books about their composer. Janacek had a lot of camera pictures of him rather than paintings. I found it interesting that Janacek had an X-ray photo of his right hand. His writing set was on display. It was interesting to see that he had a particular set rather than using anything he could find to write with. Janacek and Dvorak both had rooms dedicated to their piano. He had many pillars with pictures and information about the significant buildings in his life. After the tour, I felt like I did not retain a lot of information because most of the time was spent walking, and I was easily distracted by cars driving by and people talking as they walked past our group.

Messiaen Concert

By: Emma Jerrier

During our first week here, we went to see a concert by the Prague Philharmonic where they performed Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time. We stopped at the bar before the show which was really interesting, there was music in the background but it was essentially just bass but helped provide a good background as everyone was talking and relaxing before the show. In the space, rather than being a more formal setting, it was like a black box theater and it was a really intimate setting with only about 60 people there. I also could immediately tell that, unlike the people in the bar who were younger and just there to hang out with their friends, the people in the space itself were all very intimidating, not in the way that they were scary but in the way that they very clearly belonged when we clearly did not.

Though there was a sense of not belonging at first, once the music started, we were essentially brought into this world and made a part of it. All the musicians were fantastic and watching how they subtly interacted with each other as they were playing. In this silent space, only punctuated by the music, we became a part of this experience and became slightly less of an outsider to this experience. We had also listened to recordings of Messiaen previously that week so we were all familiar with the background for each of the songs which was helpful as the MC spoke entirely in Czech.

Overall though initially an intimidating and othering experience, it prepared us for going to experience more music in Prague and was an incredible introduction to classical music that I had never heard of before. I found myself really connecting to the music and the musicians because of how emotive they were even when they weren't looking at us and how much they put into the pieces emotionally. The performers were so skilled and all had incredible solo parts that were just stunning. A favorite moment for our group was when we realized how long applause goes here in Prague - we clapped for around 10 minutes!

Music Museum

By: Regan Stillman

The Czech Museum of Music was truly an incredible experience. It was an interactive museum where you could walk through and not only see all different types of instruments from different eras but you also had the ability to listen to them with headphones. Readings from class taught us about how environments surrounding music can affect the way you interact with it and we experienced this during our visit. Since we were the only ones in the museum, we were able to play the instruments that were offered and this created a comfortable space in which everyone was able to learn more and have fun.

The concept that we focused on during this trip was something called musicking which is how people interact and feel music. As a class we shared a few experiences with this. Laura played us a song on the piano, we ran up and down musical steps to try to play songs, smashing a gong and attempting to play the harp.

This was one of the first things we did together as a class in Prague and overall, everyone loved it. We learned a lot about the history of music in Prague and we gained a sense of the importance music has in Czech culture.

Brno Music Festival

By: Noah Craig and Landon Hardister

Kill the Dandies,and Dunaj opened the stage for Mick Harvey & Amanda Acevedo / JP Shilo / Sometimes With Others

This concert was not like a regular concert that any of us attend before. This concert was, with no exaggeration in the middle of the woods, at what looked liked an abandoned house. There was a man sitting in the shattered window with his legs sticking out. Did this mean it was not fun? No this was one of the best experiences that I had here. We arrived while Dunaj was performing. They were, despite not understanding them in the slightest, amazing. They had very catchy music, the crowd was on their feet, musicking* and having a good time.

*(musicking- any activity involving or related to musical performances; performing, composing, dancing, head bobbing, etc.)

There was an intermission before the headliner came out, where there was music playing over speakers and it gave time for people to catch up, get food, and go to the restroom. The headliner was very good. It was a completely different sound then what we heard in the one opening act, due to the instruments. The first had guitars and drums, while the second had a cello, bass cello, piano, drums, guitar, and bass guitar. Mick Harvey, the main guy, during the headliner, was very interactive with the crowd.
The crowd was very open to us, the youngest people there by far. The crowd was very opening, which was quite a surprise, because Europeans are not the most friendly towards American tourist from personal experience up to this point. Once you joined the crowd, however, everyone was swaying together, having a good time. Some of our group got up and danced with some of the Czech people too, whether voluntarily or not. The patrons in attendance had no malice but were very quick to grab you and dance with them. We all at first felt like outsiders but by the end, we were rocking Dunaj merch and were integrated with the locals.

Terezin

By: Emma Higgins and Catie McKinney

Background

Our class visited the town of Terezin in order to develop a deeper understanding of the historical context of where we are living. Our class took a specific look at how art and music were used in Terezin. Terezin was a Jewish Ghetto during World War II. The camp was established in 1941 and served as a transit and holding camp for Jews before they were deported to extermination camps such as Auschwitz. Terezin had a dual purpose: it was used as a propaganda tool by the Nazis to deceive the international community about the true nature of the Final Solution, and it also served as a ghetto where thousands of Jews were held in overcrowded and oppressive conditions. The Nazis presented Terezin as a "model" or "privileged" ghetto to the outside world, allowing limited cultural and artistic activities to take place. They organized staged visits by international organizations, such as the Red Cross, to showcase the camp's supposedly humane treatment of Jewish prisoners. The living conditions in Terezin were harsh, with overcrowded barracks, inadequate sanitation, and limited food supplies. Disease, malnutrition, and mistreatment were rampant. Many people died in the camp due to these harsh conditions, and many others were later transported to extermination camps where they were murdered. Today, Terezin serves as a memorial and museum, commemorating the victims of the Holocaust and preserving the history of the camp. It stands as a grim reminder of the atrocities committed during World War II and the Holocaust.

Art and Music

While Terezin was used as a ploy to convince the Red Cross that Jews were not being severely maltreated, this camp did serve as a place of hope and creativity. This is because they were given artistic liberties at this camp, rights to perform with instruments in an orchestra, rights to put on plays, and rights to draw. They were able to express their hopes and their feelings through their art. To the right, you can see depictions of what is named the drum of death. This symbolized how music was their final hope and they were playing it to escape being sent off to a camp to their death. It was a longing where they put everything they had left into their art and their music making music have a deeper meaning than ever before.

The art provided a lens by which to better understand the lives, emotions, and experiences of those who once experienced Terezin and other camps.

Though extremely dehumanizing and deflating, tragedy can often spur creativity. It is striking to think that during such oppression victims still put forth the energy create. In a sense, deep tragedy spurs deep emotions which can be expressed through art. Art is often both the product of deep emotion and the medium for expression.

Not only can these emotions be expressed through art, I think that in some cases certain emotions can be portrayed better in art. As we walked through the museum, I found myself especially struck by the drawings on display. They had a unique way of transporting me into that life. I think tangible objects have this ability in a way that words do not. I have read many excerpts and books surrounding the horrific events, but nothing has ever resonated as much as accessing tangible relics such as drawings, items, the even music. Though music is not tangible in a physical sense, it feels more real.

These artistic expressions are able to make the emotions more digestible. Instead of having the middle man of words, I find that drawings and songs have the ability to place me in the creator's shoes. When looking at a drawing, I can imagine exactly what the artist was looking at, and I am able to easily transport myself to that world, helping me experience the emotions.

We have talked in class about how music has tremendous emotional and physical effects, and I feel this is especially true for the pieces we have listened to which were written by prisoners in various camps. I can't describe it, but listening to these pieces has such a unique ability to make me feel things that simply cannot be described the same using words. Words are almost too impersonal to describe the depth of such emotions. Art is deeply personal, and that is why I feel like it helps me put myself in the perspective of the artist. It is truly a window to someone else's brain in a sense.

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