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| Composers Biography - Languages - |  |
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Bedrich Smetana
[ Life | Works | Operas | Photo Gallery | Home Page] |
![[ Bedrich Smetana Image]](../Dizionario/images/smetana.gif) |
Smetana holds an important place in the development of musical nationalism in his native Bohemia, where he was born in 1824, the son of a master brewer in the service of Count Waldstein and others. His career was interrupted by a period of self-imposed exile in Sweden, after the political disappointments that followed the turmoil of 1848. He was instrumental in the establishment of Czech national opera and a Czech national style, in particular in his symphonic poems. He was deaf in later life, but continued to compose, an autobiographical element appearing in his string quartets. - MIDI FILE - "Skocna" (5'58'')
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The best known of Smetana's operas is The Bartered Bride, the overture of which makes a brilliant opening to any orchestral concert programme. His other operas have enjoyed less international success. - MIDI FILE - "Z ceskych luhu a haju" (12'10'') The best known of Smetana's orchestral works is the cycle of symphonic poems Ma vlast (My Country), a set of six works, of which Vltava (River Moldau), which follows the historic course of the river as it flows towards Prague, is the most frequently heard. - MIDI FILE - "Moldau" for orchestra (8'08'') Smetana wrote two string quartets, the first with the title "From my life". There is a G minor Piano Trio and two short pieces for violin and piano under the title From the Homeland.
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