Bedřich Smetana – Má Vlast – No. 2. Vltava (Moldau) – Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Košice
Bedřich Smetana – Má Vlast (My Homeland)
is a set of six symphonic poems composed between 1874 and 1879 by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. While it is often presented as a single work in six movements and – with the exception of Vltava – is almost always recorded that way, the six pieces were conceived as individual works. They had their own separate premieres between 1875 and 1880; the premiere of the complete set took place on 5 November 1882 in Prague, under Adolf Čech, who had also conducted two of the individual premieres.
1. No. 1. Vyšehrad
2. No. 2. Vltava (Moldau)
3. No. 3. Šárka
4. No. 4. Z českých luhů a hájů (From Bohemia’s Fields and Groves)
5. No. 5. Tábor
6. No. 6. Blaník
In these works Smetana combined the symphonic poem form pioneered by Franz Liszt with the ideals of nationalistic music which were current in the late nineteenth century. Each poem depicts some aspect of the countryside, history, or legends of Bohemia.