Má vlast: Vltava

At a glance

• What it isthe second of six orchestral pieces in the cycle Má vlast (My Country), portraying the Vltava (Moldau), the river that runs through the Czech lands.
• Who, when, whyBedřich Smetana completed it in 1874, the year he lost his hearing.
• What to listen forthe two flutes of the springs, the river theme in the strings, the hunt and the village wedding, the moonlight, the rapids.

Listen for

• The springstwo flutes weave past each other, painting droplets of flowing water.
• The river themethe strings sing a broad, wistful melody as the river appears.
• The rapids and Praguethrough the rapids churning in brass and percussion, the river theme shines out in a major key as it passes the capital.

When it was written

Smetana was the composer who awakened Czech pride through operas and music in the Czech language, at a time when the Czech lands belonged to the Habsburg Austrian Empire. As conductor of the Provisional Theatre in Prague he staged operas such as The Bartered Bride.

In 1874 he suddenly lost his hearing and had to give up conducting. Even so, that year he began Má vlast and completed all six pieces over several years. Vltava is the most often performed of them. By tradition, the Prague Spring festival opens on the anniversary of Smetana's death with the complete Má vlast.