Towards the end of his life, the composer Bedrich Smetana (1824-84) wrote a cycle of symphonic poems, Má Vlast (My Country), a vivid, patriotic musical portait of his homeland, Bohemia. This superb recording features the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the Czech conductor Rafael Kubelik.
Má vlast
Is there any more evocative piece of national music than “Ma Vlast” or “My Country”? Smetana’s six orchestral poems – the most famous of which is “Vltava” with its instantly recognizable melody and evocation of this great river – tell of Bohemia’s lands and legends. It is performed here by the orchestra so strongly associated with Czech identity and an institution that continues to represent Czech culture on the international stage.
Prague Spring Opening Concert: Petrenko conducts Smetana
What better occasion for chief conductor Kirill Petrenko to give his Czech debut than to open the Prague Spring Festival with the festival’s signature work? The Berliner hilharmoniker perform Smetana’s Má vlast on the 140th anniversary of the composer’s death in the magnificent Smetana Hall. The combination of one of the best orchestras in the world with their chief conductor and the masterpiece of the Czech “national composer” is an exceptional experience: “The depth of understanding Petrenko showed, the crisp
performance of the players…conferred a new level of prestige and fitting anniversary honors on the Czech Republic’s most beloved composer” (Bachtrack).
New Year’s Eve Concert 1980
For his New Year’s Eve Concert 1980, Sir Georg Solti returned to Munich’s Herkulessaal, where he led the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in another colorful potpourri of entertaining pieces. The concert opens with Richard Strauss’ scintillating tone poem “Don Juan,” the first work to manifest Strauss’ mature individual style. The episodic work is based on Nikolaus Lenau’s romantic version of the Don Juan legend. Its triumphant premiere in Weimar in 1889 established Strauss as one of the leading German composers of his time. “The Moldavia,” part of Bedrich Smetana’s vast symphonic cycle “My Fatherland,” was composed in 1884 and has been synonymous with Czech music ever since. Despite the work’s highly descriptive programmatic episodes, it is the sweeping and melancholy “Moldavia” theme that captivates all listeners. In his “Two Episodes from Lenau’s ‘Faust’,” Franz Liszt, like Strauss above, also turned to Lenau for the first of his four “Mephisto Waltzes” (the episode is actually called “The Dance in the Village Inn”). It is a work which reaches heights of frenzy and sensuality. “Les Préludes” is one of Liszt’s most famous symphonic poems. The title was drawn from a poem by Alphonse de Lamartine. It was first performed in Weimar in 1854, seven years before the first “Mephisto Waltz.” The concert closes with Franz von Suppé’s Overture to the drama “Poet and Peasant” (1846). Suppé, one of the first Viennese operetta composers, also wrote many overtures, songs, etc. for Viennese comedies in his day. This is one of his most lastingly popular pieces.
3 Stars in Berlin – Live from the Waldbühne 2011
When Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann and Erwin Schrott join forces, the result is a summit of vocal giants, recorded for posterity at Berlin’s spectacular outdoor Waldbühne. Accompanied by the Prague Philharmonia under Marco Armiliato, the three singers beguiled the audience with a program ranging from famous arias to forgotten gems. There’s something for everyone, from the connoisseur to the layman who rarely listens to classical music. Also of the highest standard is the recording itself, with expert camerawork ensuring that the concert’s unique atmosphere is vividly transposed to the screen.
Smetana, The Moldau (Vltava, from “Má Vlast”)
Salzburg Wind Orchestra Gala with Martin Grubinger
A century after its collapse, the Danube Monarchy lives on – in the Waltz, the March, the Csárdás and the Polka. In a splendid gala concert the Bläserphilharmonie Mozarteum Salzburg, led by Hansjörg Angerer, brings the glamour of the world empire to life. The masterpieces of the leading composers who worked during the last hundred years of the Habsburg Monarchy are lively and triumphant, soulful and melancholic. Percussion superstar Martin Grubinger shines with a rousing performance of a specially arranged percussion suite. For the grand finale there is but one choice: The Blue Danube, the posthumous “national anthem” of the Danube Monarchy.
BBC Proms 2019: Jakub Hruša conducts Dvorák and Smetana
Czech conductor Jakub Hruša returns with two popular masterpieces from his homeland. With its song-like slow movement and irrepressible, folk-infused finale, Dvorák’s Violin Concerto is one of the best-loved in the repertoire. American virtuoso Joshua Bell joins the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra as soloist. Journey through the Czech countryside in the second half with Smetana’s symphonic suite Má vlast – a colourful celebration of a nation’s landscape, castles and warriors, with the sweeping melody of ‘Vltava’ at its heart. “An absolute triumph” (The Daily Telegraph) PROGRAM Dvorák: Violin Concerto; Smetana: Má vlast (‘My Country’)
Hope for Prague
A special concert in a stunning setting: British violinist Daniel Hope, who studied under the legendary Yehudi Menuhin, performs Max Richter’s iconic composition “Vivaldi Recomposed”, a re-imagining of the Four Seasons, with the Epoque Orchestra on a floating stage on the Vltava against the backdrop of Prague Castle and overlooked by the imposing National Theatre complex. The concert also features the world premiere of a new version of Czech composer Bedrich Smetana’s “Vltava”, which is named after the river.