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
Artisti simili
-
Smetana The Moldau (Studio Recording)
Classica - Pubblicato da Artemisia il 3 apr 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Má vlast (Digitally Remastered)
South German Philharmonic Orchestra, Denis Zsoltay
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 29 giu 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Dalibor
Jiří Bělohlávek , Andrew Griffiths
Opera - Pubblicato da Onyx Classics il 29 ott 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Orchestral Works
Vladimir Valek, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bedrich Smetana
Musica sinfonica - Pubblicato da Supraphon a.s. il 18 mag 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: The Bartered Bride
Classica - Pubblicato da Best Buy Classical il 4 apr 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana - The Moldau
Classica - Pubblicato da Piros Comercial Digital il 13 apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bedrich Smetana, Má Vlast (My Country; My Fatherland)
Classica - Pubblicato da Classical.com Music il 16 feb 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Famous Classics
Classica - Pubblicato da Claves Records il 1 gen 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 15
Musica da camera - Pubblicato da Prospero Classical il 20 mag 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Classical Collection - Smetana - El espíritu de Bohemia
Prague Philharmonic, Czech Straatsphilhamonie
Classica - Pubblicato da ClassicalPirosDigital il 10 giu 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Moldau & Other Masterpieces
Classica - Pubblicato da Warner Classics il 1 mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Má vlast: II. Vltava (Die Moldau) (Digitally Remastered)
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 1 lug 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana - Great Recordings
Classica - Pubblicato da UME - Global Clearing House il 27 feb 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: The Bartered Bride: Act III: "Skocna" - "Dance of the Comedians" (Digitally Remastered)
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Libor Pešek
Opera - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 29 giu 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Má vlast (Digitally Remastered)
Moscow RTV Large Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Fedoseyev
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 29 giu 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana - Ma Vlast
George Richter, Royal Danish Orchestra, Bedrich Smetana
Classica - Pubblicato da Denon il 1 gen 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
50 Must-Have Water Music: Classical Music Inspired by Nature - Water, Ocean & Sea
Classica - Pubblicato da Cobra Entertainment LLC il 12 mag 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruno Walter - Nathan Milstein
New York Philharmonic, NBC Symphony Orchestra, Nathan Milstein
Classica - Pubblicato da JamadaDigital il 5 feb 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Benaud Trio: Bohemian Rhapsody
Musica da camera - Pubblicato da Melba Recordings il 1 nov 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 1 No. 3 - Smetana: Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 15
Vienna Mozart Trio, Ludwig van Beethoven, Bedrich Smetana
Classica - Pubblicato da Reader's Digest Music il 29 lug 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bedrich Smetana: Die verkaufte Braut
Hilde Konetzni, Richard Tauber, Stella Andreva
Opera - Pubblicato da Urania il 1 gen 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo