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: String Quartet No. 2 in D Minor (Digitally Remastered)
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 29 giu 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Czech Romantic Music for Violin and Piano (Live)
Jean-Claude Bouveresse, Bénédicte Péran
Classica - Pubblicato da VDE-GALLO il 29 giu 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana - Piano Works
Classica - Pubblicato da Denon il 1 gen 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chor Der Staatsoper Wien Vol 3
Orchester der Volksoper Wien, Martha Heigl, Eva Pipal
Opera - Pubblicato da Piros - Arturos il 22 set 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Novia Vendida, De Mi Vida Y Libusa
Orquesta Sinfonica De Radio Hamburgo
Musica sinfonica - Pubblicato da Music Hit Factory il 1 gen 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clásicos Inolvidables Vol. 4, Paisajes
Classica - Pubblicato da ADAGIO il 15 lug 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
Classica - Pubblicato da Novus Promusica il 5 mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor (Digitally Remastered)
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 29 giu 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
Classica - Pubblicato da Clarton, Edit, Music Vars Corporation, s. r. o. il 15 feb 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bedřich Smetana, Los grandes de la Música Clásica
Orquesta Filarmónica de Chequia
Classica - Pubblicato da Piros - Lucas il 2 lug 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Ma Vlast
USSR TV and Radio Large Symphony Orchestra
Classica - Pubblicato da Blaricum CD Company (B.C.D.) B.V. il 21 ott 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: The Bartered Bride: Overture (Digitally Remastered)
South German Philharmonic Orchestra, Hanspeter Gmur
Opera - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 29 giu 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: The Bartered Bride: Introduction (Digitally Remastered)
Latvian State Symphony Orchestra, Latvija Choir, Aleksandrs Vilumanis
Opera - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 29 giu 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Louisa's Polka (Digitally Remastered)
Brno State Philharmonic Orchestra, Frantisek Jilek
Classica - Pubblicato da EMG Classical il 29 giu 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bedřich Smetana: Čertova Stěna [The Devil's Wall] (1952), Volume 1
Classica - Pubblicato da Classical Moments il 26 mar 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hits Clasicos - Smetana
Suddeutsche Philharmonie Orchestra
Classica - Pubblicato da JamadaDigital il 16 apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Music Masterpieces, Vol. XXXXXXIII
Classica - Pubblicato da ADAGIO il 11 ott 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Má Vlast (Prague Spring 1997 Opening Concert)
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Gaetano Delogu
Classica - Pubblicato da Clarton, Edit, Music Vars Corporation, s. r. o. il 13 mag 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Clásicos inolvidables, Vol. 1
Classica - Pubblicato da Iswjdigital il 5 giu 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana - Ma Vlast
Sinfonieorchester Des Südwestfunks
Classica - Pubblicato da ClassicalPirosDigital il 12 lug 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Conductors - Vol. 3
Classica - Pubblicato da JamadaDigital il 12 gen 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo