Composer Of The Week

Donald Macleod explores how Smetana created a musical Czech identity The title of Smetana’s most popular work, ‘Ma Vlast’, gives us a clue to what drove him through much of his career. It translates as ‘My Homeland’ and the music is Smetana’s ardent tribute to the Czech sprit of his beloved Bohemia. The composer was deeply involved with his people’s 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’s 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 naïve revolutionary into one of the foundational figures in Czech music. Music Featured: The Bartered Bride: Overture Triumphal symphony, II. Largo maestoso Polka: Memo