Ambassador of Czech Republic H.E. Mrs Jana Reinišová and Ambassador of Slovakia H.E. Mr. Roman Buzek. Concert 100 Anniversary of Czechoslovakia.
Concert to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Establishment of Czechoslovakia
By Tereza Neuwirthova.
On October 30th, 2018, the Embassy of the Czech Republic and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in The Hague organised a classical music concert in order to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Czechoslovakia.
The concert took place in the church De Kloosterkerk in The Hague, and started at 7pm.
The ceremony initiated with the national anthems of both the Czech and the Slovak Republic, after which the ambassador of the Czech Republic H.E. Ms. Jana Reinisová and the ambassador of the Slovak Republic H.E. Mr. Roman Buzek gave an opening speech, in which they greeted the guests, as well as recounted the joint history of the two countries.
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Czechoslovakia, which was established on October 28th 1918 was one of the many countries that formerly formed the Austro-Hungarian empire and that became sovereign after the First World War. The leading figures in the process of establishment, whose names were also mentioned in the ambassadors’ speech, were Milan Rastislav Štefánik and Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, who subsequently became the first president of the country.
Czechoslovakia went through several stages and regimes in the course of its history, starting its journey as a democratic country, later it was forced to split, and after the Second World War Czechoslovakia became a part of the Eastern Bloc with the communist regime. The Velvet Revolution, which took place in 1989, was a non-violent transition of Czechoslovakia into a parliamentary republic, and it restored democracy in the country after 41 years. On January 1st, 1993, Czechoslovakia was peacefully dissolved into the Slovak and the Czech Republic, and the countries keep close relations ever since.
Both ambassadors have pointed to the shared values and history of these two countries, and for the future wished for many more years of cooperation and close partnership.
The concert was performed by the duet Miroslav Ambroš and Zuzana Ambrošová, who played violin and piano, respectively. Both are appraised and desired players with combined Slovak and Czech backgrounds that have been invited to many international festivals and competitions. During the concert, Mr. Ambroš was using a very rare instrument that was made by an Italian violinmaker in 1734.
The duet played together 13 pieces from various Slovak and Czech composers, whereby they opened the concert with Antonín Dvořák’s Romantic Pieces. The concert continued with compositions by the well-known classical Czech composer Bedřich Smetana and the equally famous Slovak composer Eugen Suchoň, as well as contemporary pieces by the Slovak Peter Breiner, and the Czech Sylvie Bodorová. The concert was a great success among the audience, and the duet received a long-lasting standing ovation, which was followed by a short additional piece played by Mr. Ambroš on his violin.
After the concert, the representatives of the Masaryk’s institute of The Netherlands presented the book Samen op de ‘laan van Europa’ written by Pieter J. Goedhart and Jan C. Henneman, which depicts the 100 years of the Slovak-Czech-Dutch relations. The book also portrays the traces of Slovaks and Czechs in various Dutch cities such as Rotterdam or Naarden.
Hundreds attended the concert; among the audience ambassadors from every continent, heads of international organizations, judges, politicians, academics, Slovaks and Czechs and Dutch friends of both countries.
Afterwards, the refreshments, which consisted of traditional delicacies of both the Slovak and Czech cuisines accompanied by local wines, were served to the guests.
This concert was a special celebration to mark a very important anniversary for both of the two countries, and the ongoing partnership and close relations of Slovakia and the Czech Republic could be seen in many constituents of this pleasurable evening. The future collaboration of the countries that was introduced as a wish by the Slovak and Czech ambassadors will unambiguously take place.
