The Ebony Band was founded by Werner Herbers (left), hoboïst from the Dutch Concertgebouworkest. The main purpose of the ensemble was to record ‘forgotten’ music from the first half of the twentieth century. When the Iron Curtain falls at the end of the eighties, Prague had developed a musical vision which was almost unknown in the west. The album ‘Around Prague 1922-1937′ represents music written in the 20′s and 30′s by five composers from Prague. Music which was forbidden by the Nazi’s or the Communism. Composers who are almost unknown in the west. Not only a pity but also strange in a way, because it’s high quality music, daring and surprising: varied pieces with adventure. For example, the wonderful Nonet no.2 was written by Alois Haba, inspired by old church-scales or ‘Six Songs op 17′ (sung by Barbara Kozelj – foto right) written by Viktor Ullmann, a composer who wrote at Theresienstadt (Terezin) the imposing ‘Der Kaiser von Atlantis’ and died in Auschwitz. Emil Frantisêk Burian, who survived Theresienstadt, wrote the theatrical piece ‘Malá predehra’ (Small Overture) and the Tjechian ‘O Dêtech’ (‘About Children’), also sung by Slovanian sopraan Barbara Kozelj. The Brno borned Hanns Aldo Schimmerling emigrated to the USA, composed six lovely ‘Small pieces for Chamberorchestra’. Miroslav Ponc (left), who opens and close the cd, used micro-tones in his 3-piece-work ‘Wedding party on the Eiffel Tower’. ‘Around Prague 1922-1937′ gives a wonderful musical exposure of unknown pieces. Writer Joseph Roth wrote it down in 1932: ‘Prague is almost a vision of the world’.