# Bedrich Smetana



## Mirror Image

Bedrich Smetana was one of the great composers of his country's history and one of the leaders of the movement toward musical nationalism. His father was a violin teacher who gave Bedrich his first lessons and referred him to keyboard, harmony, and composition lessons when the boy requested them. His father tried to get Bedrich to apply himself in academics, but Bedrich was too focused on music to be a good student.

Bedrich Kittl, director of the Prague Conservatory, in 1844 found Smetana a job as a music teacher to the family of Count Leopold Thun while continuing music studies. He remained with the count for three and a half years, but he quit to undertake a concert tour, which turned out to be a financial failure.

Franz Liszt aided Smetana in finding a publisher for some early piano music and in 1848, Smetana founded a successful piano school.

Although he established a strong local reputation as a pianist, his piano compositions (mostly lighter works) did not earn him any special distinction as a composer.

In 1860, the Austro-Hungarian Empire granted internal political autonomy to Bohemia. A movement began to search for a genuine Czech voice in arts, including the establishment of a national theater. In 1862-1863, Smetana composed The Brandenburgers in Bohemia, his first opera, which was a success at its premiere on January 5, 1866. His next opera was Prodaná nevesta (The Bartered Bride), his most famous and enduring opera today, but a failure when it premiered on May 30, 1866.

In 1866, Smetana became conductor of the Provisional Theater, re-forming its administration and attempting to raise standards. His next opera, Dalibor (1871), was criticized for its Wagnerian elements. He had also written Libuse, but could find no producer. But in 1874, he had a large success with a light, popular opera, The Two Widows.

However, a severe whistling in the ears (graphically depicted in his autobiographical string quartet From My Life) led to deafness by the end of that year, symptoms of tertiary syphilis. He continued to compose and wrote his orchestral masterpiece Má Vlast (My Country) from 1874 to 1879. Three more operas were premiered successfully, including Libuse, but the last was The Devil's Wall (1882). By now, Smetana was seriously ill. The brain damage from syphilis led to madness, and he was confined to an asylum where he died. National mourning was proclaimed and he was given a burial at the Vyshehrad, one of the national sites depicted in Má Vlast.

[Article taken from All Music Guide]

Smetana was an amazing composer. Along with Dvorak, they put the Czechs on the musical map. What do you guys think of this very neglected composer?


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## Tapkaara

I LOVE Ma Vlast. A masterpiece. And his last name means 'cream!'


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## Mirror Image

Tapkaara said:


> I LOVE Ma Vlast. A masterpiece.


"Ma Vlast" is a masterpiece. One of the most masterful pieces I've heard from a Czech composer.


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## Sid James

I used to have a recording of the _String Quartet 'From My Life_,' which the article mentions. It ranks up there with the late quartets of Beethoven & Schubert in terms of quality. I don't want to sound cliched here, but it really expresses the joys & sorrows of his life. At the end, the instruments play the high pitched sound that he heard, which is a symptom of ear problems. It gets across how uncomfortable and distressed he must have felt when hearing this noise. To my knowledge no other composer had done something like this until then, even though Beethoven similarly heard some whistling noises as he was going deaf. _'From My Life' _must be some of the most intense & personal music ever written by anyone. Kind of points towards Janacek's two late quartets which are also very autobiographical & passionate, but for different reasons, of course.

On a lighter note, I especially enjoy the orchestral excerpts, such as the Overture and dances, from _The Bartered Bride_. It is interesting to learn from the article that this, the most popular of all Eastern European operas, was a failure at it's premiere. Pieces like this show how he was the first Czech (or Bohemian?) composer to produce music with a strongly local identity, and this would in turn have an impact on composers like Dvorak, Janacek & Martinu.


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## Tapkaara

I don't know this String Quartet, Andre. I must hear it now.


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## bassClef

When you land in Prague airport on Czech Airlines, they play an excerpt from Ma Vlast over the speakers, it's a lovely welcome


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## Taneyev

IMHO, his second SQ is better than the first. And his mature short piano pieces and dances are the czech
version of Liszt. That's why almost nobody plays them outside his country.


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## Mirror Image

What's amazing is how little his music is actually played. There have been not recent recordings with the exception of a pair of recordings on Chandos, which have received mixed reviews, but Philips (who I don't think has even put out any of his music), Decca, EMI, or Deutsche Grammophon have not put out any Smetana in quite some time.


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## Sid James

To a degree, we have to thank the Australian conductor, *Sir Charles Mackerras*, for popularising the works of the great Czech composers after WWII. At that time, there was a resurgence of interest in the music of Dvorak, Smetana & Janacek in (the then) Czechosolovakia & the former Eatern bloc also. This was due to the fact that in that part of the world, where so many had suffered from German militarism, there was a deviation away from the standard Germanic repertoire. Even Beethoven had become taboo. People like Mackerras made an effort to travel to the region to perform the Czech repertoire in particular. It is no wonder that, when he travelled the world, some people actually thought that he was Czech!

& his recordings of these composers still stands up today as some of the best accounts of this music ever put to record!

I had the privelege about a decade ago to see Mackerras conduct Smetana's _*Moldau*_ here in Sydney. It was a free concert & I was standing up the back. I regret that I left the concert before the second half, where he conducted Shostakovich's _10th_. I was not happy to stand, but it was still a thrill to hear the Smetana. & quite memorable, too...


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## wolf

Tapkaara said:


> I LOVE Ma Vlast. A masterpiece. And his last name means 'cream!'


Although it is almost overplayed - Moldau especially - I have never grown tired of it, like Pach Can and Tocc&Fugue in d minor and suchlike. It is indeed a masterpiece.


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## Nix

I've been listening to his first string quartet today, and boy is it good. Comforting really, just what I needed on a bad day. He is a sadly neglected composer.


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## elgar's ghost

I like his work from every genre he turned his hand to (apart from opera - I haven't heard any of them yet!): his polkas and Czech dances for solo piano, the string quartets, the piano trio, 'From The Homeland' for violin and piano, choral works (esp. The Peasant, Czech Song and Song of the Sea) and some other symphonic poems apart from Ma Vlast (i.e. Richard III, Wallenstein's Camp and Hakon Jarl). 

So yep - scratch beneath the surface of his relatively few popular works and there are quite a few goodies about (and Supraphon have served him especially well in this respect).


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## Nix

Ok, so now I've been listening to his second string quartet, and it took me awhile before I could wrap my head around it. There are 4 movements, none of them slow, and all of them sound like they could be the finale of a string quartet. It's strange, and a little overwhelming- the music is all good and inspired but it's just too much... you can't have 4 finales in a row. 

At first I interpreted the piece as if it is was not one string quartet, but movements as apart of a set, and each of them being Smetana saying goodbye to a particular loved one (the quartet was written at the end of his live). But the more I read about it, I think now that this is perhaps the closest musical documentation of a composer going insane. I read that he only wrote several bars at a time before he would collapse of exhaustion. I think it's almost as if Smetana would finish a movement and by the time he got to the next one he would have already forgotten what he'd written. All he wanted to do was say goodbye, and in his mental state ended up doing it 4 times in a row rather then making a complete piece of it. A very interesting and touching quartet nonetheless and I second whoever cited this one as being stronger then the first.


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## HarpsichordConcerto

I enjoy his two string quartets.


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## violadude

Bedrich Smetana-

Pieces I have by Smetana:

The two string quartets

Haha yup thats all I have of this composer. I would love to explore his orchestral works more (of course I already know the famous "Moldeau" theme), but for know all I know are the string quartets. #1 is really great, fiery and passionate first movement, fun and catchy second movement, romantic and passionate third movement and energetic last movement with quotations from the previous movement. This definitely makes it a quintessential piece of Romantic chamber music. The second string quartet is quite strange indeed, written when Smetana was going crazy from syphilis I think. It is an interesting composition, I havent listened to it in a while but I remember it sounding kind of schizophrenic.


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## Taneyev

You should add his only magnificent piano trio.


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## Eviticus

Cannot believe i couldn't find a thread devoted to Smetana so I will do him the honour.

Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) 









Czech composer of many brilliant works including;

String Quartet No.1 in e minor "from my life" (and the following string quartets)
Ma Vlast
The bartered bride (especially the overture)
The festive symphony
The festive overture
And several great piano works

Inspired by Liszt and Wagner and his deafness inspired by Beethoven -this guy is doesn't get enough of a mention here (possibly because his face resembles Darth Vader when he takes his helmet off).

Any appreciation of this great composer is welcome here.


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## Eviticus

Me and a friend once got lost in Prague where we were fortunate enough to come across a beautiful cemetery full of great artists and Smetena. They played this theme on the church bells every hour.


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## elgar's ghost

Good call - I've lauded his orchestral and chamber output on here before. There's a very enjoyable Supraphon disc of orchestral works that include the three other symphonic poems apart from Ma Vlast - Wallenstein's Camp, Hakon Jarl and Richard III. The main chamber works are low in number but high in quality - both string quartets, the piano trio and the two 'Homeland' pieces for violin and piano. He was no slouch at writing a cappella choral works either (especially the two Czech Songs and the Song of the Sea), and I love his polkas and dances for solo piano. Unforgivably, I've yet to hear any of his operas(!). He was a man who experienced much personal tragedy in his life and Lady Luck rarely seemed to sprinkle her stardust over him (he eventually managed to obtain something approaching financial stability but only after his health had got even worse), but it's satisfying to know that he has always been held in the highest regard in his home country - the Czechs have always been a very discerning people!


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## moody

Eviticus said:


> Me and a friend once got lost in Prague where we were fortunate enough to come across a beautiful cemetery full of great artists and Smetena. They played this theme on the church bells every hour.


But what is the piece of music ?
/


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## moody

moody said:


> But what is the piece of music ?
> /


Oh,Oh, apparently I can't read on top of everything else--must be snow blindness!!


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## Eviticus

elgars ghost said:


> Good call - I've lauded his orchestral and chamber output on here before. There's a very enjoyable Supraphon disc of orchestral works that include the three other symphonic poems apart from Ma Vlast - Wallenstein's Camp, Hakon Jarl and Richard III. The main chamber works are low in number but high in quality - both string quartets, the piano trio and the two 'Homeland' pieces for violin and piano. He was no slouch at writing a cappella choral works either (especially the two Czech Songs and the Song of the Sea), and I love his polkas and dances for solo piano. Unforgivably, I've yet to hear any of his operas(!). He was a man who experienced much personal tragedy in his life and Lady Luck rarely seemed to sprinkle her stardust over him (he eventually managed to obtain something approaching financial stability but only after his health had got even worse), but it's satisfying to know that he has always been held in the highest regard in his home country - the Czechs have always been a very discerning people!


I must revisit Richard III actually. Do you have any other recommendations for his lesser known works?


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## elgar's ghost

Eviticus - hope this helps:

Polkas - Andras Schiff (Teldec).

Czech Dances Series II - Jan Novotny (Supraphon).

Choruses inc. Czech Songs I & II, Song of the Sea, The Peasant - Czech PO Chorus and Prague Radio Chorus (Supraphon - sadly no texts/translations with the issue I've got).

Another interesting work from a historical perspective is 6-minute Prague Carnival fragment, which was intended to be part of another large-scale symphonic cycle a la Ma Vlast. He composed the first part c. 1883 before his deteriorating physical condition forced him to abandon it (it's included in the aforementioned Supraphon recording with the symphonic poems).


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## itywltmt

I did a comparison of the many versions of Ma Vlast recorded by Rafael Kubelik during my 12 days of blogging over Christmas:
http://www.talkclassical.com/blogs/itywltmt/441-rafael-kubelik-ma-vlast.html


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## joen_cph

"Macbeth and the Witches" is one of his most surprising piano works:


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## GoneBaroque

One of the great things about TC is the marvelous discoveries you are led to. Thanks


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## moody

GoneBaroque said:


> One of the great things about TC is the marvelous discoveries you are led to. Thanks


How you doing with the bagpipes these days?


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## neoshredder

What do you think about his music? Listening to his Piano Trio right now.


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## hpowders

Ma Vlast is his masterpiece.
You don't like it, don't blame ma!


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## Oskaar

*Bedřch Smetana (1824-1884)
Má Vlast
0:50 Vyšehrad
18:23 Vltava (The Moldau)
33:54 Šárka
45:28 Z českých luhů a hájů (From Bohemia's woods and fields)
59:43 Tábor
73:48 Blaník
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, 18 4/2010*

Very fine presentation of this national treasure of th Czeck republik.
The filmatic production follows up as another instrument, by follow the music and what happends. Really reccomended.


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## CDs

One of the first pieces of classical music I really enjoyed was Smetana's _Bartered Bride Overture_ soon after that I discovered _Ma Vlast _. Really enjoy his music!


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## Arsakes

CDs said:


> One of the first pieces of classical music I really enjoyed was Smetana's _Bartered Bride Overture_ soon after that I discovered _Ma Vlast _. Really enjoy his music!


The first Smetana piece I listened to was Die Moldau (Vltava) part of Ma Vlast about year 2000. It has always been very deep and fantastic to me.


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## Weird Heather

It seems that many people discover Smetana through hearing The Moldau or all of Má Vlast, and then they never hear anything else. His music is definitely worth exploring. In recent weeks, I have listened to both string quartets and the early Festive Symphony. The string quartets are fine examples of Romantic chamber music, and both are deeply emotional and personal works.

The Festive Symphony is a relatively early curiosity. He wrote it for the wedding of the emperor of Austria-Hungary, but it was rejected. One would normally expect some sort of single-movement overture or march for an occasion like this; an entire 45-minute symphony in the usual style for such an occasion seems like it would be a bit too much. Still, in the hands of such a skilled composer, it works surprisingly well. It is bombastic, exuberant, and over the top, of course, but Smetana mixes up the mood enough to make things interesting, and his gift for orchestration is evident even in this early work. It may not be a masterpiece like Má Vlast, but it is worth a listen, and I would love to hear it live in a concert hall, but alas, it is not frequently performed.


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## Pugg

I started with the The Bartered Bride, Fantasy on Czech Songs then the ones mentioned above .


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## majlis

If you would like a Czech-Liszt, look for Smetana's dances and polkas by Firkusny.


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## HaydnBearstheClock

His Ma Vlast is amazing, listening to it at this moment. What a great testament to his homeland.


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## christomacin

These two Smetana recordings by Stokowski are quite good:


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## Pugg

​*Bedřich Smetana.*

March 2th 1824
Remembering Mr Smetana's birthday.


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## joen_cph

A curiosity: "_Faust_", ouverture to a puppet play, for piano and orchestra (1862)





Smetana, btw, means "cream".


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## vamei

one of the best performances


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## Rosie

I never before realized how great Smetana is! Such a highly underrated classical gem, the word needs to get out there!!


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## flamencosketches

Which of the following two is your preferred recording of Má vlast?


















I am also eyeing the Antoni Wit on the strength of Vamei's recommendation on this page of the thread


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## wkasimer

flamencosketches said:


> Which of the following two is your preferred recording of Má vlast?
> 
> View attachment 122110
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> 
> Both. I think that the Ancerl is the better performance, but the late Jiri Belohlavek was no slouch, and was provided with better sonics. But I think that if I had to limit myself to two recordings, these two would be the ones. Talich and Sejna have great recordings, but the sound is limited.


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## flamencosketches

Noted. Well, I have another disc of Ancerl's coming in today (conducting symphonies by Martinu), I'll give it a spin and depending on what I think, I'll make the decision from there. I'm getting to be on a bit of a Czech music kick, bit by bit realizing that the composers Martinu, Janacek, Dvorak, and finally Smetana are all unique and interesting in their own ways. Smetana I think especially has been kind of maligned by history. This piece seems like the obvious place to start.

Somehow I didn't realize how recent the Belohlavek recording was, 2017, wow. I also didn't realize he'd died so young (for a conductor, especially)! Rest in peace.


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## CnC Bartok

flamencosketches said:


> Which of the following two is your preferred recording of Má vlast?
> 
> I am also eyeing the Antoni Wit on the strength of Vamei's recommendation on this page of the thread


Both are excellent, but every recorded version of Ma Vlast pales before Rafael Kubelik in 1990, a performance beyond praise, and of great historical importance too.


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## flamencosketches

Ah, I was looking at that one too. Thanks, you may have made the choice for me. :lol: Now I just have to get around to actually listening to all of my options...


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## CnC Bartok

Or, if you want to get angry, cry, or become a Czech, with intense pride:









"Just after the tanks rolled in" as it were.......


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## Azol

I would really like to round up my Czech opera collection getting Libuse and Dalibor (and Sarka as well) but not sure which recordings (more performance-wise, sound quality is of second importance as I am not averse to historical ones).

The only one I got so far was Supraphon 2CD Libuse with Nadezhda Kniplova and I wasn't too happy about it. Soprano was audibly strained in high tessitura (most evident in Prophecy scene) and baritone wasn't too exciting or convincing - tired is the correct word.

Looking for collective wisdom of opera lovers!


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## Jacck

Azol said:


> I would really like to round up my Czech opera collection getting Libuse and Dalibor (and Sarka as well) but not sure which recordings (more performance-wise, sound quality is of second importance as I am not averse to historical ones).
> 
> The only one I got so far was Supraphon 2CD Libuse with Nadezhda Kniplova and I wasn't too happy about it. Soprano was audibly strained in high tessitura (most evident in Prophecy scene) and baritone wasn't too exciting or convincing - tired is the correct word.
> Looking for collective wisdom of opera lovers!


Bedřich Smetana: Libuše - Milada Šubrtová 1974




Šubrtová is considered the best for both Libuše and Rusalka


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## Joachim Raff

Weird Heather said:


> It seems that many people discover Smetana through hearing The Moldau or all of Má Vlast, and then they never hear anything else. His music is definitely worth exploring. In recent weeks, I have listened to both string quartets and the early Festive Symphony. The string quartets are fine examples of Romantic chamber music, and both are deeply emotional and personal works.
> 
> The Festive Symphony is a relatively early curiosity. He wrote it for the wedding of the emperor of Austria-Hungary, but it was rejected. One would normally expect some sort of single-movement overture or march for an occasion like this; an entire 45-minute symphony in the usual style for such an occasion seems like it would be a bit too much. Still, in the hands of such a skilled composer, it works surprisingly well. It is bombastic, exuberant, and over the top, of course, but Smetana mixes up the mood enough to make things interesting, and his gift for orchestration is evident even in this early work. It may not be a masterpiece like Má Vlast, but it is worth a listen, and I would love to hear it live in a concert hall, but alas, it is not frequently performed.


I totally agree with your comments. Brilliant have a super 3 cd set with some of his lesser known works. Absolute top performances as well.


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## Janspe

Smetana has never really been a composer of interest for me, but recently I've been _really_ excited about his two string quartets. The first one is of course very well known, but the 2nd is equally intriguing. Amazing works, both! I should really check out some of his operas, and of course the famous tone poems still remain an unexplored territory for me...


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## Merl

Janspe said:


> Smetana has never really been a composer of interest for me, but recently I've been _really_ excited about his two string quartets. The first one is of course very well known, but the 2nd is equally intriguing. Amazing works, both! ...


Yep, great string quartets.


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