Music. Music plays a big role in my life. I like to sing, I love listening to music. I don't know anyone around me who doesn't listen to music. The difference is what they listen to music.
Do you also belong among people who are multi-genre and like whatever it is that they enjoy at the moment? I do, and that's why I don't want to say that pop music is worse than rock and that rap rules the world of music. It really doesn't. I still need people to remind me of those artists who are not played 20x on the radio every day. They're known by everyone, and in a way everyone admires them. Groups and artists who are known worldwide. Groups such as Queen, The Beatles or The Rolling Stones.
I would like to describe all the groups today and why I actually write about them, but I want to focus on one of them especially. The Beatles and John Lennon. Just as New York has in Central Park a mosaic with the inscription IMAGINE (the same name bears a song from John Lennon), we have John Lennon`s Wall in Prague. This wall was created in response to the shooting of a singer in December 1980. Someone had chosen the wall at the Velkopřerovská Square, which was formerly part of the public water main. A text "For John Lennon" was written on it with a cross above it. People also added candles and photographs. It was later removed and painted green, apparently due to the nationwide disposal of inscriptions. At that time, the XVI Congress of the Communist Party was held in Prague, which did not tolerate these inscriptions and the support of the West.
Several young people met to celebrate John Lennon on December 8, 1981, and since 1989, more and more people have begun to meet there to celebrate. The situation has changed when the wall came to the possession of the Knights of Malta, who once again splashed the wall white. Thanks to John Lennon Peace Club, the painter Frantisek Flashar was allowed to create Lennon's portrait on the wall with the idea that people would draw only flowers. This, of course, did not last long.
After the turn of the century, the wall became a tourist attraction. It has also become available to all artists and people who have something to say. Since then, no one has been cast out of the wall, but on the night of November 16, 2014, young artists painted the wall on white and drew "Wall is over". The inscription referred to Lennon's song "War is over". The artists wanted to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the totalitarian regime when the inscriptions were removed. Although it was supposed to be a positive act, they were later charged, because the act was considered as a misdemeanor.
Today, it still serves as a tourist attraction. The inscriptions are still added and there is a layer after layer after layer of paintings from people around the world. Most of the paintings refer to Lennon, Beatles, as well as present political views, references to freedom or Václav Havel. In addition, we often find artists playing guitar or other musical instruments here. If you are in Prague, you should definitely visit such a special place.
Since we're talking about music, I would like to recommend you to have a look at our website where you'll find lots of concerts. The concerts are mostly of classical music. So if you like it, it's just for you. Concerts take place in various halls across Prague. You'll have a unique opportunity to see, for example, the premises of Smetana Hall or Mirror Chapel.
From our external collaborator Tereza Kultová