Smetana

Among music lovers Croatian conductor Lovro von Matačić is mostly known as a great Bruckner exegete. However he was a champion in the Eastern Europe music too. His repertoire included symphonic and opera compositions by Tchaikovsky, Janáček, Korte, Smetana etc.

The great Czech conductor and his beloved orchestra perform a definitive Má vlast. In one of his last recording with the Czech Philharmonic, Jiří Bělohlávek conducts a heartfelt account of Smetana's great set of symphonic poems: Má vlast (My Homeland).

Václav Neumann was one of the most distinguished conductors of the so-called Eastern Bloc. The long-serving chief conductor of the legendary Czech Philharmonic was principally regarded as an accomplished advocate of the music of his homeland, which he interpreted with a strong sense of form, love of detail, and a vocal espressivo, eschewing any sentimentality. This is also evident in these live recordings made in Lucerne, now released for the first time.

Amongst a pantheon of great Czech composers it is Bedrich Smetana who is revered as the musical personification of his country’s national spirit and the founder of its modern musical character. Composed after the onset of Smetana’s incurable deafness, Má vlast (My Fatherland) is an unprecedented cycle of six related symphonic poems that evoke ancient Czech legends and celebrate the majestic beauty of the country’s landscapes. Acclaimed with ‘unending storms of applause’ at its 1882 premiere, Má vlast reflects the unique characteristics that form the living heart and soul of the Czech nation.