March 16, 2012 | Theatre,

Check out these films, books and music related to Tomáš Kubínek

By Corrie Glanville

FILMS/THEATRE

Man on a Tightrope (1953)

The intrigue of a Czech circus is the center of this 1950s classic directed by Elia Kazan; in 1952 Czechoslovakia Karel Cernik (Frederic March)  struggles to keep together his beloved Cirkus Cernik, which belonged to his family before being nationalized by the Communist government. The government allows Cernik to manage the circus, but he struggles with deteriorating conditions, loss of his workers to the state and tension with his willful daughter Tereza and his young second wife Zama, played by the always wonderful Gloria Grahame, whom everyone suspects of being unfaithful.

Kolya (1996)

This Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Film begins in 1988 with a middle-aged Czech cellist dedicated to the pursuit of women attempting to make a meager living by playing at funerals. A friend offers him a chance to earn a great deal of money through a sham marriage to a Russian woman to enable her to stay in Czechoslovakia. However, the woman uses her Czechoslovak citizenship to immigrate to West Germany, leaving behind her 5 year-old son, Kolya, who changes everything for the bachelor cellist.

The Flying Karamazov Brothers

It’s hard not to love the Flying Karamazov Brothers; founded in 1973, this New York-based troupe has appeared in numerous films and television shows and won awards for their popular stage productions. Critic John Simon of New York magazine has said of them, “They handle an audience as cleverly as the cleavers, clubs, knives and other imaginable and unimaginable objects they juggle and they are as playful and personable as puppy dogs…this wholesome show should tickle the child with you and the child within you.”  

BOOKS

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (2007)

Adapted most recently for the screen, Sara Gruen’s beloved bestseller is set during the Great Depression and follows the fate of a young man, Jacob Jankowski who finds a home with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.  But the conditions are harrowing, the animals are abused and Jacob is brutalized by the often paranoid animal trainer. Inevitably, Jacob falls in love with Marlena, the animal trainer’s beautiful wife, and finds a kindred spirit in Rosie, the gray elephant trapped in a third rate traveling circus.

Under the Big Top: A Season with the Circus by Bruce Feiler (2003)

 

Some children dream of running away with the circus, but Bruce Feiler actually did when he spent eight months as a clown with the Clyde Beatty Cole-Bros Circus, traveling across the American South and Northeast. Feiler reveals a restricted world in this heartfelt memoir that the New York Post called “a mud and sweat-filled, but ultimately loving portrait of the circus.”

For kids…

Olivia Saves the Circus by Ian Falconer (2001)

 Everyone’s favorite little pig goes to the circus and has to step into the ring when the performers are all out sick with ear infections; Olivia jumps in to save the day with her fearless juggling, high wire act and lion taming. Falconer’s irresistible illustrations include a fold out spread with “Olivia as Queen of the Trampoline.” For ages 3 to 7.

MUSIC

Folk Songs: Slova Czech (2011)

 

Discover the folk songs of Tomáš Kubínek’s Czechoslovakia in this new recording by string quartet, Slova Czech. From haunting gypsy songs to infectious Bohemian dance music, this collection is hard to resist.

Dvorak in Prague: A Celebration  (1994)

If you want to explore Romantic classical music, but are not sure where to begin, this gorgeous tribute to Czech composer, Antonín Dvořák, might be the perfect place introduction.  With Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, this celebration includes Dvorak’s Carnival Overture, Romance in F Minor, Gypsy Songs and Slavonic Dances performed by Yo Yo Ma, Frederica Von Stade and Itzhak Perlman.

 Janacek: Sinfoinetta: Taras Bulba: Lachian Dances  (1997)

Czech composer Leos Janacek (1854-1928) drew upon elements of Slavic and Moravian folk music as well as the romantic style of his contemporary and friend, Antonin Dvorak to create his own distinctive style. While Janacek wrote operas, oratorios and chamber music, it is his later music that the most celebrated including the rhapsody “Taras Bulba” found on this 2CD Decca recording.