When Czech composer Bedřich Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride received its American premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in February 1909, New York music critics published positive reviews which displayed a great fascination with the many "Bohemian" aspects of the production. However, certain comments or language used by some critics indicate that American opinions of the Czech people were less than positive. After Czechs began immigrating to America en masse in 1848, already-established American citizens developed skewed cultural perceptions of the Czech people, established negative stereotypes, and propagated their opinions in various forms of press throughout the nation. Despite a general dislike of the Czechs, reviewers revered The Bartered Bride and praised its many authentic "Bohemian" qualities. This research explores the idea of a paradoxical cultural phenomenon in which the prejudice against Czech people did not fully cross over into the musical sphere. Instead, appreciation for Czech music and musicians may have trumped any such negative opinions and authentic Czech productions such as The Bartered Bride may have been considered a novelty in the eyes of early twentieth-century New Yorkers.

This study describes the state of the charanga, a Latin popular music ensemble, in New York in 1987–1988. After sketching the historical background of the ensemble, I will present and analyze data derived from primary fieldwork with Orquesta Broadway and secondary work with La Orquesta Típica Novel and Charanga América in the domains of musical style, performance context, and tradition.

Photograph of three children wearing cloth face masks and shoe coverings in an art gallery.

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Interview with Margaret Spinelli, an author and psychiatrist at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. Spinelli discusses her background in nursing, founding the women's mental heath program at Columbia, her research on antepartum and postpartum depression and psychotherapy, her experience with neonaticide cases, and her book.

Photograph of a program for an outdoor concert series featuring musical performances by Alex Waterman and others.

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