The concert is canceled

Bedřich Smetana
My Country, selection

Emma Smetana – moderator
Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava
Jan Kučera – conductor

Six symphonic poems (Vyšehrad – The High Castle, Vltava – The Moldau, Šárka, Z Českých Luhů a Hájů -From Czech Meadows and Groves, Tábor and Blaník) are among the undisputed highlights of Czech music. The author tried to portray not only the character of the local landscape but also the nature and character of the locals. The conclusion of the opus is a response to archetypal Czech history, which, according to Smetana, was supposed to inspire contemporary emancipation efforts. His program, however, has a more general overlap, so we can address My Country in completely different conditions. My Country Smetana  composed in the 1870s. The first intention to create a cycle of symphonic poems was recorded after the completion of the opera Libuše. In addition to Vyšehrad and the Vltava, the author thought about compositions called Říp (hill), Lipany (village) and Bílá hora (hill) – all of the significant historical magnitude. But due to his work on the Two Widows, he postponed the composition. In autumn 1874 the composer was deafened. Despite a ban on doctors, he wrote the first four songs in quick succession. The whole was already called the Motherland. After three years he returned to the topic. He intended to process the responses of the Hussite movement in Tábor, Blaník and Svoboda. In the end, he decided only for the first two. And My Country was born.