Repertoire: The BEST Smetana Má vlast

[@americanmultigenic]

In high school, our music teacher (one Mr. Bowman . . . good name for a music teacher (/violinist)) invariably introduced classes to Vltava, so, as a result, hundreds of northeast England kids to this day LOVE the piece. (Ditto: the Elgar Cello Concerto, quite an unusual choice for musical appreciation for unwashed adolescents, but one -- especially since it was the du Pré/Barbirolli -- we've never forgotten.)

[@bigg2988]

The du Pré - Barbirolli recording is legend, and Jacqueline du Pré is legend in more ways than one, so that must be a recording that remains nested in the memory of anyone caring for great music, but also the (hi)stories around it. And you do not have to be a Brit to be really moved!

[@petejilka968]

If you like videos, The Opening Concert of the 1990 Prague Spring Festival with Rafael Kubelik conducting Ma Vlast is such an amazing moment in recent history. Especially when Vaclav Havel and his wife are recognized with Fanfares from Smetana's "Libuše". Quite an extraordinary moment.

[@bigg2988]

I have come across those recordings by chance, and yes, it was a moving moment. As the oppressive system crumbled in the East-Central Europe, we learned to feel and appreciate those moments in each others' history, just like we did in ours.

[@patdaley9098]

For a couple of decades, I have enjoyed the recording by Antoni Wit and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice). It seems excellent to me and the recording is fine.

[@brianliu522]

I have this CD. Very enjoyable.

[@brianliu522]

I have this CD, very enjoyable

[@MahlerHolic1860]

Hi David. I'm going to a concert next Sunday to hear the complete Ma Vlast. The Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera are playing it under Tomas Hanus. Your review of Harnoncourt is well made. There was a TV broadcast many years ago of him conducting it at the Concertgebouw. I can remember my reaction which was one of disbelief. It was brilliant. I wasn't expecting that! Kind regards from Wales Paul Johnson

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Have fun!

[@MahlerHolic1860]

@@DavesClassicalGuide It was a magnificent performance David.

[@presbyterosBassI]

Michael Charry says the Szell Moldau was done in one take.

[@davidjgill4902]

Of course, why not? What perplexes me about Szell and this work is that Szell never programmed the whole thing (at least not in Cleveland.) This, despite the fact that he lived in Prague and was on the conducting staff of the Czech Philharmonic before the war. Ma vlast complete has been done many times in Chicago and Boston but Cleveland has done it only once and that was in 1975 or 76 with Rafael Kubelik. In 2019 while I was in Prague for the Prague Spring Festival and the opening night performance of Ma vlast the guest conductor in Cleveland was the new principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Semyon Bichkov conducting half of Ma vlast (just the first three parts.) Why half?

[@bbailey7818]

I just heard the Mackerras recording for the first time today. That led me to this video because when he got to Tabor-Blanik I thought, ok here we go (deep breath) wondering if Smetana's original plan of ending with From Bohemia's Woods and Fields wasn't the right one. I have three Kubeliks, Levine, Ancerl, Talich. Yet Mackerras made me love and embrace that final pair for the first time. Inevitable and absolutely terrific. Not the poison pill of the cycle I once felt they were.

[@mizofan]

I've loved Vltava since i was 10. I've not seen the river but i've collected photos of it along its route, looks lovely.

[@olegroslak852]

A little surprised that Levine's with the VPO didn't get an honourable mention. I quite like that one.

[@detectivehome3318]

🤮🤮

[@foreverkarajanfan]

Levine/VPO is definitely my #1 choice! Both the conducting and the orchestral playing are simply brilliant and dazzling with Levine's great attention to the clarity of form and architecture. It is a wonderful recording!!!

[@markfarrington5183]

A propos of nothing, could you review Kalinnikov's two exquisite Symphonies? Kuchar's Ukraine set on Naxos is a hidden gem. Love this series - a blessing in these days of COVID19. Please keep on !!!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Well thanks. I guess we just did the review! I agree that Kuchar is excellent.

[@REFaust]

Excellent, I have the Kubelik Boston on LP so it's good to know I don't need to rush out and buy another 🙂

[@etucker82]

Another place where nobody gets it right is the climax of the whole thing in Blanik. If memory serves me correctly, the final appearance of the Vysehrad motif in D-Major - the climactic moment of the whole cycle, just those three notes, are supposed to be done more slowly than the rest of the passage. So far as I know, not a single recording plays what Smetana wrote, though Kubelik makes it thrilling, especially in Prague, where he makes it sound like the ending of Mahler 3 or 5. I love both Talich and Ancerl, but I particularly love the live recordings. The sound on Talich/Rudolfinium/39 is terrible, but the playing is so raw, and the ovations and the spontaneous singing of the Czech anthem is so moving. Kubelik's my favorite conductor bar none, but I can't imagine Kubelik ever gave a performance of Ma Vlast that was quite THAT fiery (Prague and Chicago come closest). And there's that Ancerl broadcast with the BSO at Tanglewood in the middle of a thunderstorm. I have to imagine Kubelik wouldn't have done it in Boston had Ancerl not done it first and probably taught them the piece.

[@michaelcrump7601]

Má vlast is a wonderful piece - but it is a shame that it so completely overshadows the three wonderful orchestral works that Smetana wrote during the time he spent at Gothenburg in Sweden. Wallensteins Camp, Richard III and Harkon Jarl are fully the equal of anything in MV, to my ears at least.

[@carlconnor5173]

Hi David, I’m listening to Ma vlast on the radio. And it took me back to my early listening to Classical music. I remember being drawn to this piece. I loved it. I liked that Czech idiom with the mix of almost tribal rhythms and romantic melodies. Then I heard Dvorak and he pretty much eclipsed Smetena for me. But hearing this again reminds me that Smetena shouldn’t be forgotten. He composed some very good chamber music too, which I think I recall you’ve referenced in another video.

[@waukee321]

The first recording I had of it was by Walter Susskind and St Louis Symphony Orchestra on the Vox label. It was a mid 1970s Quadraphonic L P recording. Pretty decent recording with a "spacious" sound to it. Tabor and Blanik took some getting used to.

[@michaelwillis7741]

The first four tone poems of Harnoncourt’s recording are on a set called “Faszination Klang-Die Wiener Philharmoniker” that I found on the Amazon Unlimited stream. Why the second disc wasn’t included is a mystery.

[@ondrejkratochvil4589]

BTW just today (March 1st 2024) there is new release out, Czech Philharmonics with Semjon Byčkov :)

[@jeremylee9696]

I love Ma Vlast and for me the go-to performance for me is Mackerras, not only for the exciting interpretation and the Czech Philharmonic's inimitable sound, but also for the fact that at the near end of Sarka (before the trombone soli) you can clearly hear the melody in the flutes cutting through the orchestral maelstrom. This line gets drowned out in most performances (e.g. Harnoncourt and Levine), or is bolstered by either horns or trumpets (which can sound terribly crude). The only other performance that really makes it audible is Berglund/SD. On another note, I wanted to recommend a very special and personal Ma Vlast. Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi recorded the work three times (CzPO, Tokyo Metropolitan SO and Yomiuri Nippon SO) but it's the last one that I think is the most interesting. I don't think I've ever heard the stormy climax of Moldau sound so ferocious.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thank you for the recommendation!

[@alfredolabbe]

Dear Mr. Hurwitz: Thanks again! I am a committed "Mavlaster" (VERY fond of Tabor and Blanik by the way) with 17 versions in my shelves, including Kubelik (Chicago and Czech PO - 1990 - plus a DVD with the BRSO), Talich, Ancerl, Smetacek, Neumann (Leipzig Gewandhaus and Czech PO, AAD and DDD) and, of course Harnoncourt and Mackerras. What do you think of the Antoni Wit with the Polish Radio SO? Concerning the Moldau, I believe Fricsay is really splendid. Greetings from Santiago

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I think Wit is a bit, well, if not exactly slow, then too heavy, and I usually enjoy his work very much.

[@davesmusictank1]

@@DavesClassicalGuide I have the Wit version and tend to agree, although I still like it, so I have ordered the Kubelik with the Boston SO. Then I can compare and say goodbye Wit perhaps.

[@pietstamitz1]

I know this cycle in the Kubelik/Boston-performance, and never realised that Tabor and Blanik were weaker pieces, so good is the performance here... Sarka indeed is still better in the Vienna performance.

[@tonytaylor3476]

I have quite a few versions of Ma Vlast, my favourites being the homecoming Kubelik, Ancerl and a couple of sentimental ones from Smetacek and one by a conductor I hadn’t heard of before which I like called Krombholc. Interested in purchasing a version by Talich but I see there are 3 to pick from on the various platforms all with the Czech PO. A 1929, a 1939 and a 1954 Naxos issue. Which one is your recommendation in the video? Is it the 1954? Better sound maybe? Great videos, your best of one by one cycles are terrific! Keep them coming

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes, 1954, for the sound.

[@amirdavistheking]

since the Moldau's 1st theme sounds like Israel's anthem "Hatikva" it was played often when Israel\Palestine was under British rule and playing the Anthem was forbidden by the Brits( because they were afraid that it will stir up the national emotions) so the IPO played it instead

[@Warp75]

The Kuchar set is a great bargain

[@UlfilasNZ]

Berglund of course! I need to listen to Harnoncourt... Also can we hear more about the figure skating routines??

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I will talk about them in due course, believe me. I did get one skater to use the Symphonie fantastique...then she broke her spine.

[@UlfilasNZ]

@@DavesClassicalGuide ....

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

@@UlfilasNZ Not seriously. A minor fracture in practice, but she went back to more predictable music!

[@UlfilasNZ]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Phew!

[@bigg2988]

@@UlfilasNZ S. Fantastique is too emotionally charged to apply to hi-risk sport such as figure skating... The selection must have been spot-on for the skating number, but the skater might have lost concentration for a moment getting caught up LISTENING to the music. :o Careful, Mr, Hurwitz, I am afraid to think of what happens if you ever suggest them skating to Mahler! :)))

[@charlescoleman5509]

I have a soft spot for the one by Ancerl.

[@porcepic44]

What a pity Fricsay never recorded the whole cycle ! His Moldau is so beautiful (especially in the video with the RSO Stuttgart), he had this music in his blood (although he was Hungarian and not Czech) and would have certainly given us a reference recording.

[@michaelremish3123]

Thoughts on Hrusa’s Ma Vlast? Seems to get a lot of great reviews. In my opinion much better than Barenboim, who is great at sucking the Czech spirit out of the work.

[@johnmontanari6857]

Is that really Harold Wright on 1st clarinet in the Kubelik/BSO? It sounds like he took Czech lessons -- very different from his superb Marlboro Mozart K. 581. Great!

[@porcepic44]

I thought the same. He sounded very "Czech Philharmonic".

[@morrigambist]

I was surprised by the excellence of Harnoncourt's CD, because I very much disliked all three videos of his Ma Vlast that I had heard. However, the man had an iron grip on Tabor, and it came out sounding like counterpoint worthy of Bach -- very impressive.

[@morrigambist]

@@clavessin12 There is a DVD where the rehearsal of Vltava is fiery and exciting, but the performance is dead on arrival. It is with the COE, so it may be a duplicate of the uploaded version.

[@bomcabedal]

Sorry, but for this work there is only one: Kubelik's opening for the 1990 Prague Musical Festival, the first one after the fall of the communist regime (the live one on Supraphon). That one is so charged with emotion it just compares to nothing.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

If you didn't know the circumstance, would you still feel that way? If you can, I would suggest some A/B comparisons, blind. They more prove ear-opening.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

@@davecook8378 I've never heard a frisson. I always thought it was a dessert topping.

[@alfredolabbe]

Dear Born: I agree with you completely! I would add - for similar reasons - the live recording from 5 June 1939 by the Czech Philharmonic under Talich, after the nazi occupation. The public spontaneously sang the National Anthem. It is in Supraphon SU 4065-2 and all the "Mavlasters" should have it. The sound is poor but the emotion is palpable. Greetings from Santiago

[@RabidCh]

​@@alfredolabbe Oddly enough, I love that Talich recording despite its strong sonic limitations but I find Kubelik's 1990 to be not over all others. There's some great moments but I overall find the orchestra's energy too diffuse in the inner movements compared to some of his other recordings. In terms of Kubelik's live recordings, I might actually prefer his 1991 (video) recording with the same orchestra in Japan.

[@bomcabedal]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Valid point, but sometimes the circumstance changes everything. For me, this is one of those cases.

[@giveall9695]

What about Talich´s 1939? ;)

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

What about it?

[@waukee321]

😏

[@senhueichen3062]

I bet David has 5000 CDs.

[@damiangruszczynski7451]

I think much, much more!

[@martinhaub2602]

My collection is upwards of 15,00 and I'm pretty sure he has me beat.

[@senhueichen3062]

Martin Haub just by looking at the background, there are CDs and CDs....amazing collection....you may join him to build a museum.

[@olegroslak852]

I have between 25,000 and 30,000 (only 20,000 are cataloged in an Excel spreadsheet, so I'm not quite sure). I'm willing to bet David has more.

[@senhueichen3062]

Oleg Roslak Good to hear that....keep piling up...we are not tired of classical music.

[@barbaricyawper14]

Great to see you praising the Berglund and the Kubelik/BSO, my top 2 Ma Vlast recordings. The Kubelik/BSO set is great - I picked it up on LP a few months ago and fell in love with it. It was a rather lavish set for DG with tons of info about the Smetana piece, but also about Kubelik. At the time the BSO was courting a new artistic director after Steinberg left and they gave Kubelik a series of concerts and this one chance to record with the BSO on DG. For whatever reason things between Kubelik and the BSO didn't work out and they ended up hiring Ozawa and the rest, as they say, is history. It's a shame because that Ma Vlast set is astonishingly good. If only Kubelik recorded more with BSO!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

He also made a great Bartok Concerto for Orchestra (video to come...)

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Yes!! IMO, it's the equal of Reiner Chicago!!!!

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

The Kubelik/BSO Ma Vlast sounds amazing on open reel tape.

[@bigg2988]

@@DavesClassicalGuide ...And, I think a pretty good Beethoven 5th (as part of his 9 symphonies - 9 orchestras cycle). But of course that one is among the most recorded pieces in history, hard to register, unless it were special.

[@peterpetrovic3423]

Smetacek???

[@alfredolabbe]

Smetacek is really splendid. I vote for it!

[@peterpetrovic3423]

@@alfredolabbe Absolutely!

[@Bezart34]

Yes - Smetacek is THE one ! In excellent sound, too.