Bedřich Smetana - Má vlast (Václav Talich)

Information

Composer: Bedřich Smetana

• Má vlast

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

Václav Talich, conductor

Date: 1954

Label: Supraphon

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Review

It’s wonderful hearing this performance again in bright, clean, well-remastered sound. Unlike some other releases in this series, the treble frequencies aren’t too astringent, and the bass is rich and full. In loud sections there’s a slight “blurr” or sonic halo around the brass, but it’s not bothersome. In any case, the performance is magnificent. Has anyone managed the end of Šárka with comparable ferocity and such well judged tempo relationships, or presented the ending of Vltava with such majesty and grandeur? It’s always a joy to hear the Czech Philharmonic in this music, but in From Bohemia’s Fields and Groves as well as Tábor and Blanik, you get the sense that the musicians are playing with an added level of concentration and conviction. There’s never a dull or inexpressive moment. Here’s the bottom line: everyone agrees that this interpretation is a classic, and it now sounds more vivid than ever. [3/24/2006]

— David Hurwitz

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Bedřich Smetana (2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. The basic materials from which Smetana fashioned his art, according to Newmarch, were nationalism, realism and romanticism. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music. Internationally he is best known for his opera The Bartered Bride and for the symphonic cycle Má vlast ("My Homeland"), which portrays the history, legends and landscape of the composer's native land.

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Václav Talich (28 May 1883 – 16 March 1961) was a Czech conductor, violinist and pedagogue. He studied violin with Otakar Ševčík and conducting with Arthur Nikisch. From 1919 to 1941 Talich was the Czech Philharmonic's chief conductor, raising its prestige to world levels, touring widely with it, and recording Czech music for EMI. Particularly noted for his interpretations of Czech composers such as Dvořák, Smetana and Suk, Talich also did much to bring the operas of Janáček into the standard repertoire. Talich also taught a good deal, with Karel Ančerl and Charles Mackerras among his pupils.

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