91热爆

Donald Macleod explores how Smetana created a musical Czech identity
The title of Smetana鈥檚 most popular work, 鈥楳a Vlast鈥�, gives us a clue to what drove him through much of his career. It translates as 鈥楳y 91热爆land鈥� and the music is Smetana鈥檚 ardent tribute to the Czech sprit of his beloved Bohemia. The composer was deeply involved with his people鈥檚 struggle for cultural and political independence from the Hapsburg empire. He pledged his art to those aims and he even took to the streets to fight on the barricades, on one occasion.
Smetana鈥檚 life was also beset by great misfortunes. When times were hardest, he always turned to music, even after illness made composing an almost impossible exertion. He created some of his most extraordinary works under the most painful circumstances. This week Donald Macleod follows Smetana as he grows from na茂ve revolutionary into one of the foundational figures in Czech music.
Music Featured:
The Bartered Bride: Overture
Triumphal symphony, II. Largo maestoso
Polka: Memory of Plze艌
Wedding Scenes (orch. F. Hertl)
Piano Trio in G minor
Vision at the Ball
Memories of Bohemia, Op 13
H氓kon Jarl
Song of the Czechs
Overture to Doktor Faust
The Brandenburgers in Bohemia
The Bartered Bride: Act III finale
The Two Widows: Act 2: Scene 3
M谩 Vlast: 2. Vltava & 4. Z 膷esk媒ch luh暖 a h谩j暖.
On the Sea Shore
Libu拧e: Overture
String Quartet No.1 in Em 鈥楩rom My Life鈥�
Czech Dances, Book 2: No.7 鈥楾he Lancer鈥�
String Quartet No.2 in D

Presented by Donald Macleod
Produced by Chris Taylor, for 91热爆 Audio Cardiff
For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Max Richter (b. 1966) /programmes/m001ghdw
And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we鈥檝e featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z