Domestic and foreign contexts of Czech music education

Abstract

This study focuses on significant historical events in the context of music education at public schools from the 1930s to the present. It characterizes music education since the founding of the Society for Music Education in the Czechoslovak Republic in 1934, clarifies the circumstances of establishing the International Society for Music Education (ISME) rooted in Prague, and deals with the state of music education during World War II. The article focuses on the most critical post-war events, on integrating progressive systems into general music education (Orff’s Schulwerk) in the 1960s and 1980s, and on poly-esthetic and integrative music pedagogy in the 1990s the last century. Regarding this study, the author applies his personal experience and knowledge gained from many years of working for European music organizations. Within this article, the author also evaluates important conferences and activities of the Visegrád Music Team, characterizes the current state and main theses of further development of music education, and personally contributes to them with his suggestions. This study is based on some hitherto unknown sources obtained from a few significant personalities.