Vítězslav Novák in the Context of Czech Music as a Whole: Thoughts about the Composer’s Fate

Abstract

Discussion is devoted to the role of Vítězslav Novák in the frame of Czech music around 1900. Vítězslav Novák (1870–1949) is one of the composers where the characteristic contrasts can be found in many respects that can be described with functions central-marginal, global-local, heterogeneous-homogeneous. But indicated categories are no naturally given constants. They also do not represent categories that had been prescribed by Novák himself but that spring from the discourse on Novák at least in Czech environment.