Who plays contemporary music in the Czech Republic?
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For music to be “contemporary” it is not enough for it to have been written recently; it also has to express something of the pulsing cultural spirit of its time. At first sight of the score, or first listening, it has to be clear that this is music that could not have been written at any time but now–of course with some latitude allowed for impulses coming from the last decade, or even decades, where these have remained or re-emerged as an active inspirational element in music. On that first listen, the instruments used, the sound material, the compositional technique, are all audible. But often it is only on a second listening that that the specific way of thinking essential for the “contemporary” character of contemporary music, can be heard. As in the case of historically authentic interpretation of early music, so too for performance of new music, specialised ensembles have proved their worth, and in their very existence and profile these ensembles tell us
