Probing the Relationship between Václav Talich and Otakar Šourek against the Background of their Mutual Correspondence from 1939 through 1956
2013
Abstract
The music critic, writer, and organizer Otakar Šourek was bound to the world-famous conductor Václav Talich by a close friendship practically throughout their lifetimes. The study of their mutual correspondence provides valuable information about their experiences during the difficult years of the Nazi occupation and following the Communist putsch. Šourek was Talich’s advisor and confidant, and even during the hardest years, he always expressed his support for Talich and gave him practical assistance.
Talich greatly valued Šourek for his personal character and for the work he had done in the field of Dvořák scholarship. The article is a continuation of a study published in Hudební věda 49 (2012), no. 3, pp.301–320.