Magazine
The violin that's different from all others but still makes sweet music. Record breakers on the Old Town Square and the man who fell asleep at a rail crossing waiting for the train to pass.Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.
And what does playing a marble violin feel like?
"It's a very special feeling. I am still getting the feel of the instrument, because it is quite a new experience. I even have to be careful how I stand because if I were to lean forward I might well topple over. One learns all the time. I hope that one day I will be able to invite you to a marble violin concert and that someone will compose some fine music for this beauty. I would readily accept the challenge because a marble violin has its own characteristic sound which is different from that of a wooden instrument. This violin won't bring the house down or shatter glass but it brings me much delight to play it - it is an instrument you want to be left alone to play just for your own pleasure. "
The violin, which has made the Guinness Book of Records is made of green and white marble, with regular strings and wooden pegs. In some parts the marble is three millimetres thin -which is what makes the sound so good. Jaroslav Sveceny again :
"I have played a glass violin as well as a plastic one. I mean you can take an old shoe put in a few strings and when it's amplified you are ready to go. But what I love about this is that this doesn't need any amplification -this has its own quality sound and that's what makes it so special. When I see a plastic instrument and people say - hey what do you make of it - I tell them let me hear it without a mike. This plays all on its own - and it plays beautifully. "
And how does the sculptor of this unique piece -Jan Rericha -feel about it all?
"Quite frankly, when I look around this museum it warms my heart to see my marble violin here. There you see Adriaen de Vries' Hercules, Manes' Orloj and Langweil's model of Prague - well I'd say I am in good company aren't I?"
The lower house of Parliament and the Senate are at loggerheads about whether Czech radio and TV broadcasters should be made to speak grammatically and stylistically correct Czech. The "language law" as it has been dubbed was approved by the Lower House some time ago and stipulated that broadcasters should speak good Czech so as to preserve the country's lingual heritage. This week the Senate swept the bill off the table saying that it smacked of the old days of censorship.
The police cracked down on bad drivers again this week. The fourth nation wide operation code named Krystof is said to have scared many drivers into leaving their cars at home and taking the bus. However the traffic police had their hands full as usual. Some drivers weren't even in a state to pay their fine. A certain driver and his friend had a few drinks too many before setting off - indeed they were so fatigued by the drinking binge that they fell asleep waiting for the train to go by at a rail crossing. Drivers behind them honked their horns loud enough o wake the dead - but the two men slept on -until a couple of officers came and woke them up.
