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
Ähnliche Künstler
-
Smetana The Moldau (Studio Recording)
Klassik - Erschienen bei Artemisia am 03.04.2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Má vlast (Digitally Remastered)
South German Philharmonic Orchestra, Denis Zsoltay
Klassik - Erschienen bei EMG Classical am 29.06.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Dalibor
Jiří Bělohlávek , Andrew Griffiths
Oper - Erschienen bei Onyx Classics am 29.10.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Orchestral Works
Vladimir Valek, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bedrich Smetana
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei Supraphon a.s. am 18.05.2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: The Bartered Bride
Klassik - Erschienen bei Best Buy Classical am 04.04.2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana - The Moldau
Klassik - Erschienen bei Piros Comercial Digital am 13.04.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bedrich Smetana, Má Vlast (My Country; My Fatherland)
Klassik - Erschienen bei Classical.com Music am 16.02.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Famous Classics
Klassik - Erschienen bei Claves Records am 01.01.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 15
Kammermusik - Erschienen bei Prospero Classical am 20.05.2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Classical Collection - Smetana - El espíritu de Bohemia
Prague Philharmonic, Czech Straatsphilhamonie
Klassik - Erschienen bei ClassicalPirosDigital am 10.06.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Moldau & Other Masterpieces
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.03.2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Má vlast: II. Vltava (Die Moldau) (Digitally Remastered)
Klassik - Erschienen bei EMG Classical am 01.07.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana - Great Recordings
Klassik - Erschienen bei UME - Global Clearing House am 27.02.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Má vlast (Digitally Remastered)
Moscow RTV Large Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Fedoseyev
Klassik - Erschienen bei EMG Classical am 29.06.2014
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
Oper - Erschienen bei EMG Classical am 29.06.2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana - Ma Vlast
George Richter, Royal Danish Orchestra, Bedrich Smetana
Klassik - Erschienen bei Denon am 01.01.2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
50 Must-Have Water Music: Classical Music Inspired by Nature - Water, Ocean & Sea
Klassik - Erschienen bei Cobra Entertainment LLC am 12.05.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruno Walter - Nathan Milstein
New York Philharmonic, NBC Symphony Orchestra, Nathan Milstein
Klassik - Erschienen bei JamadaDigital am 05.02.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Benaud Trio: Bohemian Rhapsody
Kammermusik - Erschienen bei Melba Recordings am 01.11.2012
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
Klassik - Erschienen bei Reader's Digest Music am 29.07.2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bedrich Smetana: Die verkaufte Braut
Hilde Konetzni, Richard Tauber, Stella Andreva
Oper - Erschienen bei Urania am 01.01.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo