The Second International Congress of Composers and Music Critics was held in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

between May 20 and May 29 in 1948, and was an important moment in the development of musical life in post-war

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. It was also a significant intervention in the debate over the state of modern music, and was frequently referred to in subsequent writings on the subject of the relationship between music and political and social change. The conference was organised by the Syndicate of Czech Composers, which was founded on 20 February 1946, and had also arranged the spring music festival known as

Prague Spring International Music Festival The Prague Spring International Music Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní hudební festival Pražské jaro, commonly cs, Pražské jaro, Prague Spring) is a classical music festival held every year in Prague, Czech Republic, with symphony orchestras an ...

since 1946, and the First Congress of Composers and Music critics. The Proclamation of the Conference later became known as 'The Prague Manifesto' The conference was attended by around 70 musicians, composers, and music critics from 14 countries, including the British composers

Alan Bush Alan Dudley Bush (22 December 1900 – 31 October 1995) was a British composer, pianist, conductor, teacher and political activist. A committed communist, his uncompromising political beliefs were often reflected in his music. He composed pro ...

and Bernard Stevens. It was also attended by the German composer and philosopher

Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was an Austrian composer (his father was Austrian, and Eisler fought in a Hungarian regiment in World War I). He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artisti ...

who delivered a lecture on 'Basic Social Questions of Modern Music'. He declared that "After all the excesses and experiments, it appears today to be the job of music of our time to lead music back to a higher form of society, to lead it back from the private to the universal" Hans Eisler ''Basic Social Questions of Modern Music'' in ''A Rebel in Music'' ed. Manfred Grabs (1978) The Conference aimed to offer solutions to what participants saw a crisis in modern music. Problems were summed up under three headingsAlan Bush, 'The Second International Congress of Composers and Music Critics', ''Musical Times'', Vol. 89, No. 1267. (Sep., 1948), pp. 280-281. *'The Structure and Expression of Modern Music' *'Functions of Serious and Light Music' *'Problems of Music criticism Today' The Prague Manifesto offered a set of principles for composers, which involved avoiding extreme

subjectivism Subjectivism is the doctrine that "our own mental activity is the only unquestionable fact of our experience", instead of shared or communal, and that there is no external or objective truth. The success of this position is historically attribute ...

and allying themselves more closely with their national cultures. It also called for composers to focus on music that could have concrete content, such as

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

, and songs. Although the proclamation echoes the 1948 Conference of Composers in the Soviet Union, and the

Zhdanov Doctrine The Zhdanov Doctrine (also called Zhdanovism or Zhdanovshchina; russian: доктрина Жданова, ждановизм, ждановщина) was a Soviet cultural doctrine developed by Central Committee secretary Andrei Zhdanov in 1946. It ...

, the notion that the Soviet delegates dictated the outcome has been challenged.Miloš Jůzl, 'Music and the Totalitarian Regime in Czechoslovakia', ''International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music'', Vol. 27, No. 1. (Jun., 1996), pp. 31-51. The Prague Manifesto forced thinkers outside Czechoslovakia to confront aesthetic and ideological issues.Mark Caroll, ''Music and Ideology in Cold War Europe'' (Cambridge University Press, 2003) It was criticised by

Theodor Adorno Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * Theodor Blueger, ...

in his Die Gengangelte Musik. It was also discussed by

Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

in his introduction to Rene Leibowitz' 'The Artist and His conscience'. Sartre described the Prague Manifesto as "the stupid and extreme consequence of a perfectly defensible theory of art, and one that does not necessarily imply an aesthetic authoritarianism" Preface to Rene Leibowitz, ''L'artiste et sa conscience'' Paris 1950, reprinted in ''Situations'' (New York 1965)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Second International Congress of Composers and Music Critics 1948 1948 in music 1948 in Czechoslovakia 20th century in Prague Music in Prague 1948 conferences