In his musical travelogue from 1773, the English musician and musicologist Charles Burney described Bohemia as the "conservatory of Europe". The country, now part of the Czech Republic, was then part of the Austrian Empire and from here came many outstanding composers who, if they did not stay in the country, worked not only in Vienna and other Austrian cultural centers, but also at the courts of all Europe and in the German, Italian and French metropolises. The word "Bohemian" encompasses the Czech and German language areas of the Czech lands. No wonder that Czech and Bohemian music has fascinated many musicians and musicologists for three centuries.
