Bedrich Smetana
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.
© TiVo
Artistes similaires
-
Czech Romantic Music for Violin and Piano (Live)
Jean-Claude Bouveresse, Bénédicte Péran
Classique - Paru chez VDE-GALLO le 29 juin 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana - Piano Works
Classique - Paru chez Denon le 1 janv. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chor Der Staatsoper Wien Vol 3
Orchester der Volksoper Wien, Martha Heigl, Eva Pipal
Opéra - Paru chez Piros - Arturos le 22 sept. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Novia Vendida, De Mi Vida Y Libusa
Orquesta Sinfonica De Radio Hamburgo
Musique symphonique - Paru chez Music Hit Factory le 1 janv. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clásicos Inolvidables Vol. 4, Paisajes
Classique - Paru chez ADAGIO le 15 juil. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kunstlerleben. Piano Music from the Golden Age
Peter Phillips, Johann Strauss II, Bedrich Smetana, Cyril Scott, Léo Delibes, Enrique Granados
Classique - Paru chez Novus Promusica le 5 mars 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor (Digitally Remastered)
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 29 juin 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Wallenstein's Camp - Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 in D Minor
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Zdenek Macal
Classique - Paru chez Clarton, Edit, Music Vars Corporation, s. r. o. le 15 févr. 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bedřich Smetana, Los grandes de la Música Clásica
Orquesta Filarmónica de Chequia
Classique - Paru chez Piros - Lucas le 2 juil. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Ma Vlast
USSR TV and Radio Large Symphony Orchestra
Classique - Paru chez Blaricum CD Company (B.C.D.) B.V. le 21 oct. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: The Bartered Bride: Overture (Digitally Remastered)
South German Philharmonic Orchestra, Hanspeter Gmur
Opéra - Paru chez EMG Classical le 29 juin 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: The Bartered Bride: Introduction (Digitally Remastered)
Latvian State Symphony Orchestra, Latvija Choir, Aleksandrs Vilumanis
Opéra - Paru chez EMG Classical le 29 juin 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Louisa's Polka (Digitally Remastered)
Brno State Philharmonic Orchestra, Frantisek Jilek
Classique - Paru chez EMG Classical le 29 juin 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bedřich Smetana: Čertova Stěna [The Devil's Wall] (1952), Volume 1
Classique - Paru chez Classical Moments le 26 mars 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hits Clasicos - Smetana
Suddeutsche Philharmonie Orchestra
Classique - Paru chez JamadaDigital le 16 avr. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Music Masterpieces, Vol. XXXXXXIII
Classique - Paru chez ADAGIO le 11 oct. 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Má Vlast (Prague Spring 1997 Opening Concert)
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Gaetano Delogu
Classique - Paru chez Clarton, Edit, Music Vars Corporation, s. r. o. le 13 mai 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clásicos inolvidables, Vol. 1
Classique - Paru chez Iswjdigital le 5 juin 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana - Ma Vlast
Sinfonieorchester Des Südwestfunks
Classique - Paru chez ClassicalPirosDigital le 12 juil. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Conductors - Vol. 3
Classique - Paru chez JamadaDigital le 12 janv. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bedřich Smetana: Čertova Stěna [The Devil's Wall] (1952), Volume 2
Classique - Paru chez Classical Moments le 26 mars 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo