Poster Bedrich Smetana
Bedrich Smetana, Czech composer
www.wikipedia.org
Performance Today®

My Homeland

Czech composer Bedrich Smetana wrote a set of tone poems that he called Ma Vlast. A literal translation is My Country. But a more idiomatic translation might be My Homeland, a name that gives that sense of groundedness and belonging. Today and tomorrow, a look at Smetana's homeland. We'll hear four of the six pieces, including the most famous, The Moldau.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Johann Sebastian Bach: Prelude and Fugue No. 13 in F-sharp Minor, from the Well-Tempered Clavier
Vladimir Feltsman, piano

Francisco Tarrega: Capricho Arabe
Sharon Isbin, guitar
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Caryl Florio: Two movements from Quartette
The West Circle Saxophone Quartet
Plowman Chamber Music Competition, Columbia, Missouri

Johann Sebastian Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor, BWV 1067
Tim Day, flute, the San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco

Anonymous: Dananza Amorosa
Millenarium

Peteris Vasks: Dolcissimo, from Gramata Cellam
Sol Gabetta, cello and voice
Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado

Ketil Bjornstad: Tribute to Summer
Ketil Bjornstad, piano
Spoleto Festival USA, Charleston, South Carolina

Hour 2

Bedrich Smetana: The Bear, from Ten Czech Dances
The Czech Nonet

Claude Debussy: Sonata in G Minor for Violin and Piano
Janine Jansen, violin, Itamar Golan, piano
Royal Conservatory, Brussels, Belgium

Gabriel Faure: Apres un Reve (After a Dream)
Janine Jansen, violin, Itamar Golan, piano
Royal Conservatory, Brussels, Belgium

Bedrich Smetana: Excerpts from Ma Vlast (My Homeland)
The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor
The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

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