The Prague Conservatory Jazz Orchestra performs in Taipei Sept. 30. (Courtesy of Taipei City government)
By June Tsai
Musical luminary Milan Svoboda and his Prague Conservatory Jazz Orchestra played in Taipei Sept. 30, captivating local music lovers with their trademark silky sounds and continental flair.
“I am very happy to have performed in Taiwan and had a wonderful experience,” Svoboda said. “Our countries are so far apart geographically and culturally, but music brings us together.”
Svoboda, 59, is one of the most important figures in the development of jazz music in the Czech Republic. His eclectic musical style, which fuses comedic expression with jazz and hip-pop, has won the artist accolades around the world during a 30-year career.
The orchestra comprises students from Prague-based Jaroslav Jezek Conservatory and College, which is considered the top tertiary institution for jazz music in Central Europe.
According to Svoboda, he began playing jazz a few years after Soviet tanks rolled through the streets of Prague in 1968. “For me, the music was a way of sharing stories during these hard times; it was also one of the few ways I could be free.”
The orchestra’s one-off gig in Taipei was part of a cultural exchange event organized by the Taipei and Prague city governments.
Svoboda and his band were accompanied by a delegation from Prague, including Deputy Mayor Marie Kousalikova, Assemblyman Ivan Bednar and conservatory deputy director Jiri Kulisev.
“This is the first time for such event to take place and we hope it will not be the last,” Kousalikova said. “Czech jazz has a unique sound and we hope to bring it back to Taiwan in the future. We also welcome Taiwanese groups to play in Prague.”
Musical luminary Milan Svoboda and his Prague Conservatory Jazz Orchestra played in Taipei Sept. 30, captivating local music lovers with their trademark silky sounds and continental flair.
“I am very happy to have performed in Taiwan and had a wonderful experience,” Svoboda said. “Our countries are so far apart geographically and culturally, but music brings us together.”
Svoboda, 59, is one of the most important figures in the development of jazz music in the Czech Republic. His eclectic musical style, which fuses comedic expression with jazz and hip-pop, has won the artist accolades around the world during a 30-year career.
The orchestra comprises students from Prague-based Jaroslav Jezek Conservatory and College, which is considered the top tertiary institution for jazz music in Central Europe.
According to Svoboda, he began playing jazz a few years after Soviet tanks rolled through the streets of Prague in 1968. “For me, the music was a way of sharing stories during these hard times; it was also one of the few ways I could be free.”
The orchestra’s one-off gig in Taipei was part of a cultural exchange event organized by the Taipei and Prague city governments.
Svoboda and his band were accompanied by a delegation from Prague, including Deputy Mayor Marie Kousalikova, Assemblyman Ivan Bednar and conservatory deputy director Jiri Kulisev.
“This is the first time for such event to take place and we hope it will not be the last,” Kousalikova said. “Czech jazz has a unique sound and we hope to bring it back to Taiwan in the future. We also welcome Taiwanese groups to play in Prague.”
This article is published in Taiwan Today Oct. 1.
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