While rootling about in various classical music websites for my Culture Blog, I came across this interesting little educational nugget, about and then from the now highly successful classical singer Magdalena Kozena:

Though she is now based in Paris, she first learnt her art in Czechoslovakia; first at the Brno Conservatory and later at the Bratislava College Of Performing Arts. She commented on how that grounding has served her over the years.

"Actually, I'm from a very lucky generation because I did all my studies during the socialist time and the education, I have to say, was really very good. It was very, very strict and difficult. Everything I learned – and it was a lot – I could use abroad because I was sixteen at the time of the Velvet Revolution and could go abroad immediately."

Sometimes everything just works out right.

It's been a irregular but regular theme here that the Eastern Europeans could really hit the big time in the next few years as educators, once the European Union really opens up.