Editing Czechs (section)

==== Music ====
[[File:Dvorak Bedrich Smetana and friends in 1865.jpg|thumb|''[[Bedřich Smetana]] Among his Friends'', 1865; oil painting by [[František Dvořák (painter)|František Dvořák]]]]
[[Czech music]] had its first significant pieces created in the 11th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eu2009.cz/en/czech-republic/music/history/history-of-czech-music-2374|title=EU2009.cz – History of Czech Music|website=Eu2009.cz|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-date=15 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715004439/http://www.eu2009.cz/en/czech-republic/music/history/history-of-czech-music-2374/|url-status=live}}</ref> The great progress of Czech artificial music began with the end of the [[Renaissance]] and the early [[Baroque era]], concretely in works of [[Adam Václav Michna z Otradovic]], where the specific character of Czech music was rising up by using the influence of genuine [[traditional music|folk music]]. This tradition determined the development of Czech music and has remained the main sign in the works of great Czech composers of almost all eras – [[Jan Dismas Zelenka]] and [[Josef Mysliveček]] in [[Baroque (music)|Baroque]], [[Bedřich Smetana]] and [[Antonín Dvořák]] in [[Romanticism (music)|Romanticism]], [[Leoš Janáček]], [[Bohuslav Martinů]] and [[Josef Suk (composer)|Josef Suk]] in [[modern classical]] or [[Petr Eben]] and [[Miloslav Kabeláč]] in [[contemporary classical music]].

Czech musicians also played an important role in the development of European music. [[Johann Stamitz|Jan Václav Antonín Stamic]] in 18th-century contributed to the creation of [[Classicism]] in music<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.czechmusic.net/klasika/stamic_jv.htm|title=Jan Václav Stamic|website=Czechmusic.net|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-date=13 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313035536/http://www.czechmusic.net/klasika/stamic_jv.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> by innovations of compositional forms and the founding of the [[Mannheim school]]. Similarly, [[Anton Reicha|Antonín Rejcha]]'s experiments prefigured new compositional techniques in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/reicha.php|title=Classical Net – Basic Repertoire List – Reicha|website=Classical.net|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-date=21 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221024402/http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/reicha.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The influence of Czech musicians expanded beyond the borders of the [[Europe]]an continent, when [[Antonín Dvořák]] created a new [[United States|American]] classical music style, using the richness of ethnic music of that country during his mission in the [[US]]. The contribution of [[Alois Hába]] to [[microtonal music]] in the 20th century must be also mentioned.

Czech music reached as far as [[Qing China]]. [[Karel Slavíček]] was a [[Jesuit]] missionary, scientist and [[sinologist]] who was introduced to the [[Kangxi Emperor]] on 3 February 1717, in [[Beijing]]. The emperor favored him and employed him as court musician. (Slavíček was a [[Spinet]] player).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cinsky.cz/index.php?page=clanek&id=480&lang=cs|title=Český jezuita na čínském dvoře|date=26 February 2009|access-date=6 February 2011|work=cinsky.cz|archive-date=29 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029171429/http://www.cinsky.cz/index.php?page=clanek&id=480&lang=cs|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some notable modern Czech musicians are US-based composer and guitarist [[Ivan Král]], musician and composer [[Jan Hammer]] and the rock band [[The Plastic People of the Universe]] which played an important part in the [[Prague underground (culture)|underground]] movement during the communist regime.

The Czech Republic first entered the [[Eurovision Song Contest]] in [[Eurovision Song Contest 2007|2007]]. Czech performer qualified for the grand final for the first time in [[Eurovision Song Contest 2016|2016]] when singer [[Gabriela Gunčíková]] finished in 25th place. In [[Eurovision Song Contest 2018|2018]] the singer [[Mikolas Josef]] reached the 6th place in the contest being the best result of the Czech Republic until today.

Other important names: [[Franz Benda]], [[Rafael Kubelík]], [[Jan Ladislav Dussek]], [[Vítězslav Novák]], [[Zdeněk Fibich]], [[Jan Kubelík]], [[Jiří Antonín Benda]], [[Julius Fučík (composer)|Julius Fučík]], [[Karel Svoboda (composer)|Karel Svoboda]], [[Karel Kryl]], [[Václav Neumann]], [[Václav Talich]], [[František Xaver Richter]], [[Jan Křtitel Vaňhal]], [[Vojtěch Živný]], [[Josef Bohuslav Foerster]], [[Magdalena Kožená]], [[Karel Ančerl]], [[Ema Destinnová]], [[Maria Jeritza]], [[František Xaver Brixi]], [[Jiří Bělohlávek]], [[Oskar Nedbal]], [[Karel Gott]].<ref>{{cite web
| title = Karel Gott
| url = http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/history/famous-czechs-of-the-past-century/karel-gott/
| publisher = Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
| access-date = 1 February 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080101232540/http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/history/famous-czechs-of-the-past-century/karel-gott/ |archive-date = 1 January 2008}}</ref>