# Bedrich Smetana: My Country



## confuoco

Do you know this piece or at least this notable romantic Czech composer? I haven't idea how much is this monumental work known around the world. 
*
My Country* is a cycle of 6 tone poems. These are national inspired works with special historical and symbolic importance for Czech people, but I think it is also universal work available for everybody. It has broad melodies and warmth typical for Czech music.


By the way, I am Slovak, not Czech  

Recommended!


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## david johnson

i enjoy it a lot. my favorites are the 'moldau' and 'the high castle'.
favorite recording for me is the complete cycle with kubelik/chicago on mercury. 'moldau' seems the most popular.

dj


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## confuoco

My favorites are _The High Castle_ and _From Bohemia's Woods and Fields_ (very inaccurate translation).

What about Moldau, it is maybe interesting that the theme is a tune from banal czech folk song transposed to minor...


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## confuoco

I think _Moldau_ is the most popular also because these tone poems were composed independetly and can be played separately. I think abroad Czech Republic it is rarely performed as a complete cycle.

It is tradition, that My Country opens music festival Prague Spring every year.
*
Rafael Kubelik* made many recordings of this work - with Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, CSO, BSO, VPO...I don't know which recordings are considered to be among the best...I have one with Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.


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## BuddhaBandit

While I like Ma Vlast (My Country) very much (particularly "From Bohemia's Woods and Fields" and "The Moldau"), I like Smetana's string quartets even more. Great, nationalistic chamber music. Smetana also composed a few operas, the most famous being, of course, _The Bartered Bride_. Also, his piano music isn't bad, either.


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## Chi_townPhilly

confuoco said:


> Do you know this piece or at least this notable romantic Czech composer?


My version is a Telarc digital recording by Macal and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. (I guess I found it on a store shelf sometime in my Midwestern days- I am glad I have all the good music that's on that disc.)


confuoco said:


> By the way, I am Slovak, not Czech


I'll make a note of it!


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## confuoco

BuddhaBandit said:


> While I like Ma Vlast (My Country) very much (particularly "From Bohemia's Woods and Fields" and "The Moldau"), I like Smetana's string quartets even more. Great, nationalistic chamber music. Smetana also composed a few operas, the most famous being, of course, _The Bartered Bride_. Also, his piano music isn't bad, either.


I love especially *String Quartet No. 1 E minor "From My Life"*...but I really think it is not nationalistic in any way. Many String Quartets by Dvorak are more based on czech folk tunes and are "more czech". String Quartet No 1 is quite intimate work with program autobiografical aspects. The fourth movement is amazing...

I recommend wonderful live recording by *Alban Berg Quartet*...the great acoustics, the great atmosphere.


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## Gill

I suppose it depends on the recording you "cut your teeth on". For me, Kubelik on DG with the Boston Symphony is my go to. This recording has the best Sarka of any version. I also have a video of Ma Vlast with Kubelik conducting the Bavarian Radio S.O. Interesting version but sonically and interpretively not as fine as his Boston recording.


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## Templeton

I have James Levine's version with the Vienna Philharmonic, together with excerpts from The Bartered Bride, as an additional bonus.

I haven't heard any other versions but both Levine and the VPO are as reliable as always and I particularly enjoy their performances on this recording.


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## Triplets

I recommend the Talich recordings.


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## elgar's ghost

I recommend his other symphonic poems as well.


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## campy

I'm listening to the Harnoncourt recording right now! (Not my favorite. That would be Kubelik's Prague version.)


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## ptr

Kubelik's recording from the Prague spring festival with the Czech Philharmonic when he returned "home" to conduct for the first time in Prague in 41 years is magnificent (on Supraphon with slightly poor sound quality) and should be in every Smetana lovers record collection, the same team was recorded in Tokyo playing a few weeks later with better sound quality but the sheer cut trout feel of the Prague return is unsurpassed! (I also like Talich's legendary recording as well!)

/ptr


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## Vinski

ptr said:


> Kubelik's recording from the Prague spring festival with the Czech Philharmonic.


There is a video of this concert too.


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## Radames

Templeton said:


> I have James Levine's version with the Vienna Philharmonic, together with excerpts from The Bartered Bride, as an additional bonus.
> 
> I haven't heard any other versions but both Levine and the VPO are as reliable as always and I particularly enjoy their performances on this recording.


The only time I heard the entire piece in concert was Levine conducting the BSO a few years ago. It's on my list of favorite concerts of all time.



elgars ghost said:


> I recommend his other symphonic poems as well.


I got to hear Hakon Jarl last year played by a community orchestra. It's a fun piece. I love hearing the rare stuff played live, even if the playing is a bit rough.


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## mtmailey

View attachment 69548
I LIKE the symphony in e major i like movements 1,3, & 4 the most.


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## Bill H.

I think I have close to a dozen different recordings of this work. 
The Kubeliks are great, I also learned this work with the Boston Symphony on DG, but have all his other versions too, except for the VPO one. 

There are almost as many Talich recordings--1929 (studio), 1939 (live), ca. 1941 (studio) and 1954 (studio), all I believe with the Czech Philharmonic.

The electifying 1939 performance is a perfect example of how music can energize a people despite their political shackles. It happened during the Prague Spring festival, the first one after the Nazi occupation. The audience roars their approval after every work in the cycle, and after the final bars of Blanik, they break out into a spontaneous singing of the Czech national anthem. Needless to say the German occupiers were not pleased at this outpouring of Czech patriotism. 

The sound is not great, and there are a few bars missing of "From Bohemia's Woods and Fields" at the beginning. Ironically, the only way this performance was preserved was that it was "simulcast" to several other countries, including Norway, where Radio Oslo transcribed it onto 35mm film stock. More ironic is that the Norwegians themselves fell under the Nazis soon after. The recording is available on Supraphon. 

If I had to live with just one recording of Ma Vlast though, it would be Talich's from 1954--one of his valedictory recordings before he went into exile/retirement. Just listen to the way he phrases passages from e.g. Vltava, Sarka, Blanik--no one else, not even the other Czech conductors have done it that way.


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## EDaddy

Like this version of Die Moldau a lot. The rest of this album is outstanding as well.


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## Triplets

EDaddy said:


> View attachment 70049
> 
> 
> Like this version of Die Moldau a lot. The rest of this album is outstanding as well.


 Vacationing in Prague a few years ago, I learned that the river goes by the names Moldau (German) or Vlatava (Czech). Suspect the composer would have preferd the latter name.


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## maestro267

Má vlast is the greatest Czech symphony in all but name. The recurring ideas, most notably the first theme of Vysehrad (which recurs at the climax of Vltava and Blánik), and the Hussite chorale used in the last two movements, give the whole piece a unity that make it incorrect to take individual movements out of their context. It's 75-80 minutes, but that shouldn't be a problem to an audience accustomed to Mahler's epic symphonic structures.


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## Xaltotun

Perhaps the greatest tone poem of all time? I'm still not that much into Tábor as the other parts, but the whole work is just outstanding.


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## shadowdancer

Xaltotun said:


> Perhaps the greatest tone poem of all time?


Fully agreed! A masterpiece!


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## Klingsor

Bill H. said:


> If I had to live with just one recording of Ma Vlast though, it would be Talich's from 1954--one of his valedictory recordings before he went into exile/retirement. Just listen to the way he phrases passages from e.g. Vltava, Sarka, Blanik--no one else, not even the other Czech conductors have done it that way.


I just discovered this wonderful peice of music and want to hear the best recordings of it. I'm having trouble finding the Talich 1954. Could someone post a link or at least let me know what label this was on?


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## wkasimer

Klingsor said:


> I just discovered this wonderful peice of music and want to hear the best recordings of it. I'm having trouble finding the Talich 1954. Could someone post a link or at least let me know what label this was on?


It was issued as part of Supraphon's Talich edition:









It seems to have disappeared, though, which is a scandal. I'm pretty sure that it was also issued by Naxos and perhaps another label, but I've not heard those.

Keep in mind that the sonics on the Talich are monaural and only fair. Ma Vlast really begs for great sound, so you might want to seek out a more modern recording with the Czech Philharmonic. Kubelik's last recording is justly famous, and I'm also fond of the late Charles Mackerras and Jiri Belohlavek. And keep in mind that Belohlavek made a new recording of the work shortly before his recent death, which is about to be issued by Decca:


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## Klingsor

Thank you very much, have added both to my Amazon wish list. I wish that new one didn't cost so much on vinyl!


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## wkasimer

Klingsor said:


> Thank you very much, have added both to my Amazon wish list. I wish that new one didn't cost so much on vinyl!


I doubt that the new Belohlavek is actually going to be issued on vinyl. Amazon, as usual, has linked a different recording.

If you insist on vinyl, you might be able to find Talich or Ancerl.


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## KJ von NNJ

" I think it is also universal work available for everybody. It has broad melodies and warmth typical for Czech music."

Yes indeed! Ma Vlast is a cornerstone for Czech music. I also think that it is a universal work for all to embrace. I tend to like different conductors and orchestras for each individual tone poem. 
All in all, Smetana's music is vital in several different ways. Essential for anyone who loves great romantic period music. It's really passionate stuff. Anyone who likes Dvorak or Tchaikovsky would certainly find something to like by Smetana.


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## Brahmsian Colors

A wonderful and inspiring symphonic cycle. My favorite interpretation is with Karel Ancerl and the Czech Philharmonic


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## Pugg

Haydn67 said:


> A wonderful and inspiring symphonic cycle. My favorite interpretation is with Karel Ancerl and the Czech Philharmonic


Mine too, I am curious about the new Decca s release though.


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## CnC Bartok

As far as I can see, Belohlavek's last recording is coming out on CD only, there might be a vinyl issue later if there's the demand? I'll get it, as Belohlavek's 1990 recording is also a very good one.

The Talich 1954 Is a fine recording, agreed very much, but the live 1939 version, with the German tanks rolling into Prague, is a unique occasion, and demands to be heard.

Ancerl, of course, and also a very good Smetáček recording from 1980, are top notch too. I will confess to a soft spot for Václav Neumann (1975) too. I am afraid the only non-Czech conductors I like here are Berglund (yes, surprisingly so!!! Is this really his sort of thing???) and George Szell.

My favourite though has to be the 1990 Kubelik version from the Prague Spring. The liberation of Czechoslovakia gave the conductor a new lease of life, and this is a remarkably special occasion, for what is still essentially an occasional piece. It's an immensely powerful performance, from first harp to final chords.

I too am of the opinion that this is a single work, and should be performed and listened to as such. Only Vltava and Bohemian Woods really can breathe out of context, Vyšehrad And Šárka don't, Tábor and Blaník definitely do not! But the latter two - on the surface dull pieces - really have a proper role in the cycle, the final whipping up of national sentiment and pride.

The final Blaník refers to the warriors who are holed up in said hill, ready to rise and fight in the country's hour of greatest need. Considering the crap thrown at the Czechs in the past 80 or so years, and the fact these knights have not stirred in all that time, is worrying, in that it suggests even worse than Hitler, Stalin, and the years under the Russian yoke, are to come. Depressing thought......


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## Klingsor

wkasimer said:


> I doubt that the new Belohlavek is actually going to be issued on vinyl. Amazon, as usual, has linked a different recording.
> 
> If you insist on vinyl, you might be able to find Talich or Ancerl.


Noted, thank you. And, as usual, shame on Amazon for this misleading vinyl link.


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## CnC Bartok

At least the Amazon link is to the same piece of music! So they got it partly right


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## wkasimer

Robert Pickett said:


> I am afraid the only non-Czech conductors I like here are Berglund (yes, surprisingly so!!! Is this really his sort of thing???) and George Szell.


I also like Levine's recording with the Vienna Philharmonic, although I don't think that it's quite as good as the various versions with the Czech PO.

Did Szell record any of Ma Vlast other than Vltava?


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## CnC Bartok

Sadly not, Bill. I have his Cleveland Vltava, but it's special. So light-footed. Goes against my "do all six in one go" philosophy too, I know, but he's worth checking out (not just in Smetana, obviously!)


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## Jacck

TBH, I am sick of Má vlast. As a Czech, Vltava is one of those pieces of classical music that is overused and overplayed on Czech TV, used by commercials etc. And no matter how beautiful a piece of music is, if heard too often, it will get annoying. The same can be said about the Four Seasons by Vivaldi or about The Ode to Joy or about Mozart Symphony 40. If you want to try something new by Smetana, try his symphony, the Festive (Triumphal) Sympohny


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## mbhaub

I still have a 40 year old LP set that I treasure: Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande on the RCA label. Definitely out of the mainstream back then, not being a Czech orchestra or conductor, but what beautiful music making. My LP is getting worn. Time to get the CD. But his new Decca recording might be something to look into.


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## wkasimer

mbhaub said:


> I still have a 40 year old LP set that I treasure: Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande on the RCA label. Definitely out of the mainstream back then, not being a Czech orchestra or conductor, but what beautiful music making. My LP is getting worn. Time to get the CD. But his new Decca recording might be something to look into.


I haven't heard that one, but Sawallisch had a feel for Czech music - his recordings of the Dvorak Requiem and Stabat Mater are among my favorites. But those were recorded with the Czech PO.


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## CnC Bartok

Jacck - I understand your feelings. I lived out your way for a few years, not long enough to get fed up with Ma Vlast, but long enough to get over familiar! This is maybe why I prefer hearing the whole work, rather than just Vltava? I have a few other Smetana works I my collection, including the fun Festive Symphony, and of course his really good music, like the quartets, plus a few operas, which do not, I'll confess, travel well. Libuše Is great in Prague, perhaps less so in the English countryside!

My time there meant Dvořák, Janáček, Martinů and Suk* became musical Gods to me. Not old Bedřich, bohužel.

* Actually, add Petr Eben to that list too.

Mbhaub - you Sawallisch recording is available on a relatively cheap RCA CD! If you search on Amazon, it's labelled as "Mein Vaterland", which is not very Czech, doesn't mean the performance is sub par, though. I might well check it out, always liked whatever Sawallisch did.


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## Sloe

I love it.
Smetana lived for some years in my home town Gothenburg and was a leading figure in the music life there.


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## DavidA

I love it especially Vltava. Have a recording of while thing with Kubelik conducting the BSO. Probably others of Vltava


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## Jacck

Robert, I came to classical music relatively recently and have not had enough time to listen to everything by Dvořák or Smetana. I know mostly the well-known pieces. Thanks to youtube, I have been discovering many Czech composers that I even did not know existed - Johann Baptist Wanhal, Jan Dismas Zelenka, Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda, Vilém Blodek, Zdeněk Fibich, Antonín Vranický, Pavel Vranický, Karel Bendl, Václav Jan Tomášek, Jan Václav Voříšek, Jan Bedřich Kittl, Vítězslav Novák. etc. (I do not know how good they are, I haven't yet time to listen to most of them). The Austria-Hungary Empire was pretty musically productive.
But I like this symphony by Vitězslav Novák. I do not know how good it is, because I am just an amateur. But I enjoy it.


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## superhorn

If I remember correctly , the theme from the Moldau was taken from a Swedish folk song which Smetana apparently heard while he was living in Sweden and active conducting and composing there .


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## Jacck

superhorn, yes, it is this Swedish folk song : Ack, Värmland du sköna.


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## CnC Bartok

Jacck, there's plenty of quality in those Czech composers you list, good sailing as you discover them!

Love that Novák piece (nothing to do with Slovak though, it's Slovácko not Slovensko!) And also his tone poems and the wonderful dramatic The Storm.


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## Merl

I have quite a few recordings and Wit, Neumann,Mackerras and Kuchar all knock out great versions. Neumann's has always been a personal favourite (along with the aforementioned Kubelik versions).


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## Marsilius

Jacck said:


> TBH, I am sick of Má vlast. As a Czech, Vltava is one of those pieces of classical music that is overused and overplayed on Czech TV, used by commercials etc.


Its motto theme used to be played repeatedly - and, for all I know, still is - over the public address system of Prague's main railway station. Must have driven those who worked there mad!


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## Kraffy

Supraphon's Czech Philharmonic/Vaclav Smetacek is beautiful. Also Eliahu Inbal and Frankfurt Rundfunk on Teldec.
Jim.


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## Pugg

Kraffy said:


> Supraphon's Czech Philharmonic/Vaclav Smetacek is beautiful. Also Eliahu Inbal and Frankfurt Rundfunk on Teldec.
> Jim.


Thanks for your input Jim and also: welcome to Talk Classical.


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## Kraffy

Thank you Pugg. I think I am going to enjoy it here.
Regards. Jim.


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## wkasimer

For those interested, the new Decca recording with the Czech PO, conducted by the late Jiri Belohlavek, just showed up on Spotify.


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## snowyflow

Honestly I haven't heard other pieces than _The Moldau_, which is certainly a pleasant work to listen to. The tone painting of the Vltava river is so vivid and the melodies are all beautiful and memorable. I like it a lot. And now I'm going to listen to the rest five pieces. Thanks for the posting.


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## Sissone

If you realize that My Country,or Ma vlast in Czech,B.Smetana composedcompletely

If you realize that B.Smetana composed My Country/Má vlast/ completely deaf-it is incredible.


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## Bill H.

wkasimer said:


> I doubt that the new Belohlavek is actually going to be issued on vinyl. Amazon, as usual, has linked a different recording.
> 
> If you insist on vinyl, you might be able to find Talich or Ancerl.


Per Mr. Kasimer's earlier comment, I too am surprised that the 1954 Talich seems not to be available on CD from Supraphon. It's a touchstone of their catalogue.

But Klingsor, if you are still interested in a copy of the performance, I have a vinyl transfer I made from a set of early 1960s Parliament LPs (issued in the US under license by Supraphon). Although I have the CD version, and the LPs were only in moderately decent condition, the advantage of using this source was that it was issued at a time when the Supraphon master tapes were only a few years old--hence a passage or two of audible "patchwork" that's audible on the modern CD version (perhaps due to damage or deterioration of the masters) isn't evident on the LPs. Here's a downloadable link for the LP transfer FLAC files: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByTWd_3f2RpSY1FWUC1nUmtPTXM

Just note that for some reason when I uploaded the files, they show up in my Google Drive as two subfolders and the tracks are out of order--but they are numbered, so if you download the zip and then extract them they will hopefully properly self-order, or you can set up your own playlist according to the track numbers.


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## wkasimer

Bill H. said:


> Per Mr. Kasimer's earlier comment, I too am surprised that the 1954 Talich seems not to be available on CD from Supraphon. It's a touchstone of their catalogue.


It may be OOP, but there are numerous copies available on the Amazon Marketplace. But of course, Amazon makes it difficult to find both CD issues, by not using the title "Ma Vlast". I found these by searching for "Smetana" and "Talich":

https://www.amazon.com/Smetana-Country-Cycle-Symphonic-Poems/dp/B000025L3X

https://www.amazon.com/Vaclav-Talich-Special-F-SMETANA/dp/B000ENWHVS


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