What is Smetana known for?
What is Smetana known for?
Beyond Czech-speaking countries Smetana is best known for his cycle of six orchestral tone poems, Má vlast (‘My Country’), especially ‘Vltava’, his depiction of the river that flows through Prague. In the Czech Republic, he is widely regarded as the father of Czech musical nationalism.
What trauma did Bedrich Smetana suffer from?
Czech composer, pianist and conductor Smetana is too famous for me to write a potted biography, but what you may not know is that he suffered from both deafness and tinnitus. “Unlike Beethoven, Smetana had 50 years of normal hearing, but once becoming deaf, he shared the ability to compose in his head.
What does The Moldau depicts?
“The Moldau” represents an exceptional expression of patriotic or nationalistic music. The musical poem reflects the pride, oppression, and hope of the Bohemian people. Before World War 1 Bohemia, presently the Czech Republic, was ruled by the Austro- Hungarian Empire.
Is Smetana a romantic composer?
Smetana had a good head for melody, and he did use Czech dances in his music, but he was really a mainstream Romantic composer, who came from one of the longtime centers of the European musical tradition.
What country is Smetana’s Moldau depicting?
The Moldau , Czech Vltava, symphonic poem by Bohemian composer Bedřich Smetana that evokes the flow of the Vltava River—or, in German, the Moldau—from its source in the mountains of the Bohemian Forest, through the Czech countryside, to the city of Prague.
How did Franz Liszt help Smetana?
Piano Institute Early in 1848, Smetana wrote to Franz Liszt, whom he had not yet met, asking him to accept the dedication of a new piano work, Six Characteristic Pieces, and recommend it to a publisher. He also requested a loan of 400 gulden, to enable him to open a music school.
Did Smetana write the Moldau?
Who composed the Symphonie Fantastique?
Hector Berlioz
Symphonie fantastique/Composers
The story is a self-portrait of its composer, Hector Berlioz. Hector Berlioz was born in 1803 in La Cote St André, a small town near the French Alps. His mother was a devout Catholic and his father a noted doctor. At twelve, Berlioz discovered music.
What does the Moldau refer to in Smetana’s piece?
What was Dvorak’s nationality?
Biography. Antonín Dvořák, in full Antonín Leopold Dvořák (born September 8, 1841, Nelahozeves, Bohemia, Austrian Empire [now in Czech Republic]—died May 1, 1904, Prague), first Bohemian composer to achieve worldwide recognition, noted for turning folk material into the language of 19th-century Romantic music.
When did Smetana become deaf?
1870s
Smetana went deaf in the early 1870s, his late 40s, around the time of the composition of his opera, “The Two Widows”. His deafness was the result of syphilitic infection. He composed his greatest work, the orchestral cycle Ma Vlast (Read Wikipedia | Play recording) while being stone deaf.
When did Smetana conduct his first opera?
In 1866 his first two operas, The Brandenburgers in Bohemia and The Bartered Bride, were premiered at Prague’s new Provisional Theatre, the latter achieving great popularity. In that same year, Smetana became the theatre’s principal conductor, but the years of his conductorship were marked by controversy.
What instruments did František Smetana play?
František Smetana played violin in a string quartet, and Barbora Smetana was a dancer. Bedřich was introduced to music by his father and in October 1830, at the age of six, gave his first public performance.
What did Smetana do when he arrived in Prague?
Smetana arrived in Prague in the autumn of 1839. Finding Jungmann’s school uncongenial (he was mocked by his classmates for his country manners), he soon began missing classes. He attended concerts, visited the opera, listened to military bands and joined an amateur string quartet for whom he composed simple pieces.
How did Bedřich Smetana get his start in music?
The elder Smetana, although uneducated, had a natural gift for music and played in a string quartet. Bedřich was introduced to music by his father and in October 1830, at the age of six, gave his first public performance.
