Greetings - Mayor of Praha 1, Mgr. Terezie Radoměřská
4. 7. 2023
Dear jazz lovers!
When the independent Republic of Czechoslovakia was founded more than a hundred years ago, jazz was already on the verge of maturity. And, like Czechoslovakia, it was born out of a desire for freedom. And precisely because of the freedom that emanates from it, jazz has always been dangerous to all totalitarianisms. Like the ideals that accompanied the founding of our country in 1918.
As the current Russian barbarism in Ukraine shows, the case is still not definitively won. There are still plenty of those who seek to suppress freedom. And that freedom also includes jazz. But I believe that they will not take our jazz or our freedom from us. For jazz is stronger, as is the age-old desire of people for a life without shackles and bars.
When the independent Republic of Czechoslovakia was founded more than a hundred years ago, jazz was already on the verge of maturity. And, like Czechoslovakia, it was born out of a desire for freedom. And precisely because of the freedom that emanates from it, jazz has always been dangerous to all totalitarianisms. Like the ideals that accompanied the founding of our country in 1918.
As the current Russian barbarism in Ukraine shows, the case is still not definitively won. There are still plenty of those who seek to suppress freedom. And that freedom also includes jazz. But I believe that they will not take our jazz or our freedom from us. For jazz is stronger, as is the age-old desire of people for a life without shackles and bars.