On 16 August 2024, Pavel Polka, President of the Czech Handel Society, passed away at the age of 67 after a serious illness. For many years, Mr Polka initiated, coordinated and led a wide range of activities to research and popularise the work of George Frideric Handel in his home country. With his Handel biography ‘The Triumph of Time and Truth. Leben, Schaffen und Nachwirken Georg Friedrich Händels’, published in 2021, he has produced a scholarly work that deserves great recognition, and the Czech Handel Society’s publication celebrating its 30th anniversary documents with great vigour the significant efforts of Handel enthusiasts under his leadership to popularise Handel’s works in the Czech Republic. He was a welcome guest at the Handel Festival in Halle and at the general meetings of the Handel Society; his modest yet resolute manner won people over to him and his cause. We owe him a great deal and will honour his memory.
Prof Dr Wolfgang Hirschmann
President