Biography (read more)
Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer of the Romantic era, born in Litomyšl, Bohemia, who worked in Prague, spent several years in Gothenburg, Sweden, and later returned permanently to Bohemia. His output centers on opera, including the comic masterpiece The Bartered Bride, as well as orchestral symphonic poems, chamber music, piano works, and choral compositions; his best-known orchestral achievement is the six-part cycle Má vlast, whose movement “Vltava” (The Moldau) remains widely performed. Afflicted by deafness and declining mental health in his final years, he died in a Prague lunatic asylum in 1884, officially attributed to senile dementia, though his family suspected syphilis.
Smetana is regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech national music, having pioneered a musical style closely tied to Czech cultural and political aspirations and established the foundational canon of Czech opera. Although relatively few of his works have entered the broader international repertoire, Má vlast and The Bartered Bride remain touchstones of Czech identity in music and continue to be performed and recorded worldwide, cementing his influence on later Czech composers such as Antonín Dvořák.
Sources:
Repertoire
The Moldau (excerpt, 2020)
Smetana: Czech Dances II, JB 1:114: I. Furiant in A Minor. Presto— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
Smetana: Czech Dances II, JB 1:114: II. Slepička in B-Flat Major. Moderato— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
Smetana: Czech Dances II, JB 1:114: III. Oves in A-Flat Major. Andantino— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
Smetana: Czech Dances II, JB 1:114: IV. Medvěd in C Major. Allegro— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
Smetana: Czech Dances II, JB 1:114: V. Cibulička in G Minor. Moderato— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
Smetana: Czech Dances II, JB 1:114: VI. Dupák in D Major. Vivacissimo— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
Smetana: Czech Dances II, JB 1:114: VII. Hulán in A Major. Andantino— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
Smetana: Czech Dances II, JB 1:114: VIII. Obkročák in E-Flat Major. Allegro— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
Smetana: Czech Dances II, JB 1:114: IX. Sousedská in B Major. Moderato— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
Smetana: Czech Dances II, JB 1:114: X. Skočná in F Major. Vivace— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
Five Evening Songs. T. 124: I. Kdo v zlaté struny zahrát zná— Bruno Canino
Performed by Bruno Canino
Five Evening Songs. T. 124: IV. Hej, jaká radost v kole a v náruči mit holku!— Bruno Canino
Performed by Bruno Canino
Five Evening Songs. T. 124: V. Ze svých písní trůn Ti udělám— Bruno Canino
Performed by Bruno Canino
Smetana: Czech Dances I, JB 1:107: I. Polka in F-Sharp Minor. Non molto allegro— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
Smetana: Czech Dances I, JB 1:107: II. Polka in A Minor. Moderato— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
Smetana: Czech Dances I, JB 1:107: III. Polka in F Major. Allegro— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
Smetana: Czech Dances I, JB 1:107: IV. Polka in B-Flat Major. Lento— Garrick Ohlsson
Performed by Garrick Ohlsson
String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor “From My Life”: I. Allegro vivo appassionato— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor “From My Life”: II. Allegro moderato quasi alla polka— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor “From My Life”: III. Largo sostenuto— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor “From My Life”: IV. Finale. Vivace— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
String Quartet No. 2 in D Minor: II. Allegro moderato – Andante cantabile— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
String Quartet No. 2 in D Minor: III. Allegro non piu moderato, ma agitato e con fuoco— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
Memories of Bohemia, Op. 12: II. Polka in E Minor. Moderato— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
Vzpominka na Cechy ve forme polek (Memories of Bohemia in Polka Form) , Op. 12— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
Smetana: Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 15: I. Moderato assai (Live at Verbier Festival, 2016)— Daniil Trifonov
Performed by Daniil Trifonov
Smetana: Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 15: II. Allegro, ma non agitato (Live at Verbier Festival,…— Daniil Trifonov
Performed by Daniil Trifonov
Smetana: Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 15: III. Finale. Presto (Live at Verbier Festival, 2016)— Daniil Trifonov
Performed by Daniil Trifonov
3 Polkas de salon, Op. 7: No. 1 in F-Sharp Major. Allegro comodo— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
3 Polkas de salon, Op. 7: No. 2 in F Minor. Moderato molto— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
3 Polkas de salon, Op. 7: No. 3 in E Major. Allegretto ma non troppo— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
3 Polkas poétiques, Op. 8: No. 1 in E-Flat Major. Vivo— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
3 Polkas poétiques, Op. 8: No. 2 in G Minor. Meno Allegro— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
3 Polkas poétiques, Op. 8: No. 3 in A-Flat Major. Allegro— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
Czech Dances, Book 2, JB 1:114: No. 5, The Little Onion— Rudolf Firkušný
Performed by Rudolf Firkušný
Memories of Bohemia in the Form of Polkas, Op. 12: No. 1 in A Minor— András Schiff
Performed by András Schiff
Memories of Bohemia in the Form of Polkas, Op. 12: No. 2 in E Minor— András Schiff
Performed by András Schiff
Memories of Bohemia in the Form of Polkas, Op. 13: No. 1 in E Minor— András Schiff
Performed by András Schiff
Memories of Bohemia in the Form of Polkas, Op. 13: No. 2 in E-Flat Major— András Schiff
Performed by András Schiff
Vzpominka na Cechy ve forme polek (Memories of Bohemia in Polka Form) , Op. 13— Radoslav Kvapil
Performed by Radoslav Kvapil
Die verkaufte Braut: Act II: “Komm, mein Söhnchen, auf ein Wort – Wer in Lieb’ entbrannt”— Peter Schreier
Performed by Peter Schreier
Die verkaufte Braut, Act II, Scene 5: “Armer Narr, Du glaubtest mich zu fangen” (Hans) (1962)— Hermann Prey
Performed by Hermann Prey
Sonata for 2 Pianos, 8-Hands in E Minor, JB 1:47 (Live)— Martha Argerich
Performed by Martha Argerich
Jungend-Rondo for 2 Pianos, 8-Hands in C Major, JB 1:50 (Live)— Martha Argerich
Performed by Martha Argerich