Bedrich Smetana (1824 - 1884)
Vltava from Ma Vlast

The son of a Bohemian brewer, Bedrich Smetana is seen as the founder of a Czech national school of music; such operas as “The Bartered Bride" are staples of the Czech repertoire and his cycle of six symphonic poems Má Vlast (My Country) is performed annually at the Prague Spring, the great national cultural festival. Vltava is the second of this cycle, and portrays the river, called the Moldau by German-speaking Czechs, which flows through the Bohemian countryside and the city of Prague before joining the River Elbe.