Bedřich Smetana - Má vlast (My country) | WDR Sinfonieorchester | Semyon Bychkov

Bedřich Smetana's symphonic poem cycle "Má vlast (My country)", performed by the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Semyon Bychkov. "Má vlast (My country)" is comprised of six symphonic poems, including the world-famous piece "The Moldau". For this concert Semyon Bychkov returned to the podium of the WDR Symphony Orchestra, of which he was chief conductor from 1997 to 2010. A recording from January 18, 2019 from the Cologne Philharmonic Hall.
00:00:02 I. Vyšehrad
00:16:11 II. Vltava (Die Moldau)
00:29:30 III. Šárka
00:41:15 IV. Z českých luhů a hájů (Aus Böhmens Hain und Flur)
00:54:28 V. Tábor
01:08:03 VI. Blaník
WDR Symphony Orchestra
Semyon Bychkov, conductor
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[@whatadamnusername]

Everybody knows the Beethoven was completely deaf when he wrote his masterpiece, the Ninth Symphony, but not many know that Smetana was also deaf when he wrote this, his own masterpiece. You certainly wouldn't guess it when listening to this performance!

[@marekbako7766]

Beethoven is No1.I love his No5.

[@afikile]

I wasn’t so much a lover of classical music. Someone dropped a box of old CD’s at my house and it had this. Now classic music is what I listen to

[@WDRKlassik]

We're glad that you came to like it! 😊

[@23Torsten]

Ich kenne dieses Meisterstück seit meinen Punk/Anarchozeiten aus Berlin-Kreuzberg...dort lief in einer verrauchten Szenekneipe jede Nacht mindestens einmal die Moldau....ansonsten nur Punk/ Alternativmusik, Slime und so...mein Freund, der Musiker war und vor seiner Punkzeit in der Jugend klassische Musik gespielt hatte, kannte das Stück...seitdem liebe ich das Stück...ich kenne kein Musikstück, das auf so vortreffliche Weise eine ganze Landschaft und zugleich deren Historie auf so packende Weise beschreibt! Masterpiece!

[@23Torsten]

Ich glaube die Kneipe hieß Bürgerstube, dunkles Holzinterieur, Mitte der Achtziger....bin mir aber nicht so sicher

[@SigMaQuint]

Remember hearing this in 1968 on television. I created some helpless, childish lines to sing to the theme. Awakens memories of that childhood enchantment.

[@juliapurdy3950]

The best performance I have found... Conductor Bychkov elicits from the orchestra what this piece calls for: passion.

[@WDRKlassik]

Thank you! We're happy that you like our rendition 🤗

[@lordcraft9498]

Wunderschön! Ich finde „die Moldau“ am besten. Aber alles sehr sehr gut gespielt, auch tolles Orchester und Dirigent! Wirklich gut!

[@vincegiles9516]

Love this piece and performance. I've only ever heard Vltava before. The whole work is a revelation!

[@WDRKlassik]

We are happy that we could open the gate to this music!

[@martavdz4972]

The whole piece is extremely popular in Czechia, and for a good reason 🙂It´s a must-know for every Czech, perhaps even the No. 1 piece of them all. It captures the countryside and history well, it´s never boring, always moves forward. Smetana was temperamental from what I heard (unlike the emotional but level-headed and modest Dvořák with his steady habits) and you can hear that in the music 🙂

[@LeonMare49]

Vyšehrad is the most beautiful part!

[@dvorakslavenskiples]

Fantastische Aufführung!

[@stefanholz1722]

An das WDR Sinfonieorchester: Der ganze Zyklus ist absolut Super! Mit diesem Orchester ist es noch mal so gut.

[@oliverkubiak6310]

Super! Toll akzentuiert,schön transparenter Klang. Dieses Orchester ist schon seit längerem in Höchstform. Und dann noch dieser hervorragende Dirigent.

[@WDRKlassik]

Danke für das Kompliment 😊 Musikalische Grüße sendet das WDR Sinfonieorchester

[@stefanholz1722]

@@WDRKlassik Es ist echt ein wunderbares Werk, dass Smetana geschrieben hat!

[@jananmuhildeenal-khayat890]

Moldau is the most enjoyable piece.

[@tsypa2195]

Прослухав багато варіантів виконання цього твору і цей дуже мені сподобався.Дивує,як людина позбавлена на той момент слуху,могла написати такий величний твір.

[@WDRKlassik]

Thank you 😊 We're glad that you like it!

[@_your_sovest_4200]

Обожаю Сметану! Великий чешский композитор!

[@fabricefortin8230]

Non seulement le concert a été fantastique, mais l'accueil de WDR pour les élèves français a été profondément généreux et chaleureux. Les musiciens, l'administration et le chef font non seulement vivre la musique comme peu, mais en plus ils s'assurent de la transmission de la musique avec un respect incroyable pour la jeunesse ! Merci encore !

[@WDRKlassik]

Merci beaucoup, Fabrice FORTIN!

[@davidkodym6029]

For me so far the best performance recorded. Brilliant orchester and Mr. Bychkov thank you. I couldn't have helped a burst of a laugh of joy after some of the pieces in the theatre and probably would have been asked out. That is how I like this one.

[@WDRKlassik]

Thank you for your nice words! 🥰

[@cadesertdude]

What an enjoyable performance!! This orchestra is a joy to listen to!! The blend between the brass and the winds is spot on, and the intonation? INCREDIBLE, even during the most sensitive passages in Die Moldau. Thanks to all involved for your hard work and dedication.

[@AksileAvottor-wy6bs]

Goosebumps at the very end !! but also in every piece of this whole masterpiece...

[@WDRKlassik]

Thank you 🤗

[@AksileAvottor-wy6bs]

Thank you for this video. I visited Smetana's museum in Prague, situated right in the neighborhood of Charles's Bridge. They let me play on the museum's grand piano (used as a concert instrument there) and it was a magical moment, I gave a piece of Vltava theme while looking at Vltava river in front of me🙏 I loved and love Prague..

[@williamgautsch7141]

this made me tear up.

[@WDRKlassik]

Happy to hear you liked the performance!

[@alan4yt]

by far the best quality performance so clear and fresh

[@WDRKlassik]

Thank you! 🥰

[@German_Berg_1648]

Danke ! "Die Moldau" durfte ich als Kind oft zu Hause schon hören. Schöne Erinnerungen werden wach.

[@AksileAvottor-wy6bs]

Awesome mixture of Vysehrad and Blanik theme at the end.

[@MiroslavPogadl]

Awesome mixture of Vysehrad and Blanik theme at the end.

[@ricardonascimento6020]

Excelente performance. É bom encontrar a peça completa. BRAVO!!!

[@RudolfOZucha]

Großartig. Immer wieder ein wunderbares Erlebnis, belebend, erfreulich und Erbsünde. Danke dem Orchester und dem Dirigenten! 🇦🇹🍀

[@juliapurdy3950]

I love watching the body language of the musicians in this... they clearly love music and love this piece, they understand it, they are one with it, the little smiles at certain sounds and passages, the attentiveness of their whole being... nothing like it!!

[@WDRKlassik]

😊

[@juliapurdy3950]

When the calvary on parade breaks into a spirited trot in the final passage, that is the high point

[@miriammello3784]

Gosto muito de Smetana!

[@annamariamanfredi6624]

B. Smetana è tra i miei musicisti preferiti. Questa sinfonia è meravigliosa. Eseguita e diretta in maniera impeccabile. Grazie per avermi regalato questo "gioiello" la vigilia di Natale. È "grazia " per le mie orecchie.

[@eduardomarques4562]

Muito bela realização. Dificíl ver de fato a obra completa.

[@fpunktkpunkt8991]

Wunderschöne Musik

[@WDRKlassik]

Dankeschön 🤗

[@Discovery_and_Change]

3:39 heroic | 11:43 gentle harp intro repeat | 13:11 climax heroic | 16:11 2nd movement | 27:01 celebration | 27:10 theme repeat | 29:30 3rd movement | 41:14 4th movement | 53:00 combo | 54:29 5th movement | 1:08:02 6th movement | 1:17:32 clash celebration | 1:22:32 ending, horse background

[@MozartAmadeus-fm5dd]

16:11 is Vltava

[@ruicao9805]

Amazing one, I like this the most

[@hopetopeople]

참으로 멋지고 훌륭한 연주, 아름다운 영상 고맙습니다. Thank you~!!

[@WDRKlassik]

Thanks!

[@josephhellweg3763]

What a fantastic performance, so well balanced, joyful, brooding, and energetic. I guess Bychkov conducted from his vantage point as the current music director of the Czech Philharmonic. He notably protested Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- as a Russian -- from Prague, where Russia once stifled the Prague Spring in '68, a brave step. A perfect match here between a great conductor and great orchestra.

[@WDRKlassik]

Thank you! We're glad to hear that you like our performance 🤗

[@reinhardneef4074]

Mein absoluter Favorit. Diese CD Ma vlast ist der Hammer, meine lieblings Version ist von den Moskau Philharmoniker.

[@mariabuchner279]

indeed, the complete cycle "Ma Vlast" is beautiful, though "Vlatva" (Moldau) the most beautiful piece is - and even one of the most beautiful ever written

[@WDRKlassik]

We're glad that you like it 😊

[@bertinalafeber8126]

Don't you just hate it when you put on such a great piece and KZbin interrupts in the middle of a movement with an ad. or a stupid question. Stop It KZbin.

[@user-gc5lq8bp7c]

素晴らしい演奏ありがとうございます。有名な部分以外は、初めてききました。ありがとうございました

[@WDRKlassik]

Thank you!

[@donoester6744]

Very impressed by the performance of Die Moldau, it is excellent! My favourite will probably always be the one conducted by Eiji Oue with the Minnesota Orchestra in 1997. But actually, the performance here sounds very close in impression and style in many of the parts. Some conductors (or orchestras?) in my opinion seem to become overpoetic about the wedding part that it is played so slowly as if it was a funeral.

[@martavdz4972]

Most of the symphonic poem is actually supposed to be played quite fast. I´m Czech like Smetana and fast is how I always heard it played. Smetana was very temperamental, he describes a rolling landscape and dramatic events from history. This rendition is great, but a bit too phrased. Some of the tones are separate; they should be connected. It´s all supposed to FLOW. It´s also supposed to have bigger differences in dynamics. Please find a version played by a Czech orchestra.

[@HurricaneWeasel]

Großartig! Bravo!

[@WDRKlassik]

Dankeschön! 🤗

[@wilmeceng]

I wonder if he knew how great this piece of music is that he wrote. It definitely fits-the title-My Country!!

[@materconsilium124]

Bravo!!! Essa obra é muito bonita!

[@WDRKlassik]

Obrigado 😊

[@Dylonely42]

Legendary pieces. Smetana was dead when he composed them !

[@Janaceks_Dad]

Smetana was dead when he composed Ma Vlast? That must have been quite some trick!! 😉

[@pianistegolfeur]

Enfin la version intégrale et originale !!!

[@WDRKlassik]

😊

[@MusikMoebi]

Eine grandiose Aufführung dieses Werkes. Großes Lob auch an die Tontechnik; unter einem guten Kopfhörer klingt es beinahe besser, als bei einem Livekonzert, wo mir die Philharmonie trockener in Erinnerung ist. Eine grundsätzliche Kritik geht in Richtung der Bildregie: es ist eine leider weit verbreitete Unsitte, den Betrachter mit einem viel zu hohen Anteil von Detailaufnahmen zu verärgern. Ermüdend oft sieht man nur ca. 3-4 1. Violinen an Stellen, die bei anderen Instrumentengruppen viel interessanter sind. Wenn dann die Blechbläser festlich spielen, zeigt man nur die 3 Posaunen und vielleicht noch kurz einen Trompeter ganz nah mit Nasenhaaren. Was soll das? Solche Nahaufnahmen sollten die absolute Ausnahme bei Solostellen sein, ansonsten sollte man mindestens komplette Stimmgruppen zeigen und in diesem Falle auch etwas öfter den Dirigenten von vorn, wie er das Orchester lenkt. Aber mit dieser suboptimalen Bildführung seid ihr leider in guter Gesellschaft mit den anderen Rundfunkorchestern und sogar mit den Berliner Philharmonikern, wobei es sich da in letzter Zeit zu bessern scheint.

[@WDRKlassik]

Vielen Dank für Ihr Feedback, es zeigt, dass Sie sich viel Gedanken darüber machen. Ihre Kritik können wir nachvollziehen, sicherlich gibt es immer wieder bei Aufzeichnungen von Konzerten Kameraeinstellungen, die man sich anders gewünscht hätte. In der Tat ist es sehr anspruchsvoll bei einer Live-Aufnahme immer perfekte Aufnahmen zu machen. Da wir selbst den Anspruch haben immer besser zu werden, geht der Großteil der Konzertaufzeichnungen im Anschluss in die Nachbearbeitung, um genau solche Stellen für Sie ideal aufzubereiten. Daher hoffen wir, dass Ihnen neuere Aufzeichnungen von der Bildsprache her besser gefallen. Wir wünschen ihnen weiterhin viel Freude mit unserer Musik. Liebe Grüße vom WDR Sinfonieorchester.

[@AnuTali]

1:15:39 I love it!!

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

Machen wir es den Harfen doch einfach schwerer zusammenzuspielen in dem wir sie für den Effekt auseinandersetzen. Ach ja, manche Ideen, die Dirigenten so haben... Und wer Smetanas andere Orchesterwerke auch kennt kann nicht umhin manchmal zu denken: "Nur weil es in deinen Ohren klingelt, musst du nicht in jedem Stück Piccoloflöte und Triangel einsetzen!" ;)

[@marekbako7766]

I love -Moldau(Vltava)

[@AvntXardE]

Some parts remind me very much of Wagner's ring cycle, for example the begining of "III. Šárka" sounds super similar to a piece from "Die Walküre".

[@foveauxbear]

Again, a wonderful orchestra playing marvellous music captured with DREADFUL camera work. Lush string dovetails and the trumpets playing a held not are in the frame? Why? Classic point at 35'44 a turn to the trombones who have actually finished playing and are placing their instruments down?? Sack the camera folk OR the people who go through the score and work this out. Another point, the beautiful string fugue in the second last piece, the cameras wandering around aimlessly: easy: firsts, seconds, violas, celli ... etc.

[@fritsveldhuis7168]

indeed beautiful musical performance with awfull camera work!

[@wlkosan4063]

I know that it is generally known, but I will remind you that the vast majority of poems in the cycle of "My Homeland" were composed by B. Smetana without almost without hearing...

[@WDRKlassik]

Thank you. Yes, this is amazing!

[@Chrfilmer]

Besser als der Kinderchor.

[@aa-jc5fx]

オーケストラが凄いということか。そのつもりで聴くと確かに凄い。

[@bonganidhlamini359]

Amazing 😂

[@davidparrish2534]

Performances of Bamberg symphony at the proms and Kubelik at Prague gala are much better!!

[@AndrewAppleby-fh8ci]

Brilliant! May all in Ukraine keep the defences going.

[@martavdz4972]

What does Ukraine have to do with it? Smetana was Czech. Although, I´m Czech and I support Ukraine as much as I can.

[@mrshovelbottom7475]

35:14 38:25 1:17:03

[@alaalfa8839]

Actually Ma vlast means My Motherland its female...like mother nature that gives birth. Czech and slovak word krajina means the land or country, its also female. But some translate this symphony as Vatherland....If the name would be Muj Domov or Muj kraj...it would be Vatherland, or Homeland. Kraj is male, krajina is female.

[@HornVojta]

My Motherland means in German Mein Vaterland (sorry, but it sounds better than Mutterboden). The word "Vlast" has a female form but it doesn't have any connection to word "mother". It comes from "vlastní", which means "my own". And as you perhaps know from the historical view are both forms (Mein Vaterland/Má vlast) very strong connected with nationalism. So I think there is no better way to translate this piece as "Mein Vaterland".

[@harryhirsch3447]

Sehr interessant ! Aber egal ob es Vaterland oder Mutterland heißt, es spiegelt die Heimatliebe wieder und das ist das Wichtigste .

[@aa-jc5fx]

特に優れた演奏でもないのに多くのコメントを集めた不思議。

[@tamotsukojima]

トライアングルの音は何を表現しているのでしょうか？

[@doromamire]

日本語による書き込みがないので麿が堂々日本語で書き込みしておかう。麿も過日プラハを訪れヴルタヴァの流れに手を浸して参りました。麿が訪れたのは二月であつたのでヴルタヴァは土色の濁水でした。地元諸氏の話によると冬は融雪のため水流がどうしても濁るさうです。しかし冬のプラハは空気が凛として澄み渡り、麿にはとても清々しく思へました。穏やかな朝の陽射しを浴びながらヴルタヴァの河畔を散策すると心が洗はれる思ひが致しました。

[@martavdz4972]

Sorry, but I couldn´t listen to this. I don´t know why Bychkov conducts it so slow, with tones so separated from each other. Smetana was very temperamental, this is supposed to be fast and flowing. This isn´t about my motherland Czechia at all. I can´t hear it in it. If you can, find the recording with Jiří Bělohlávek.

[@heidilallitsch5879]

Kann mir jemand Tips zu Smetana geben hab in 4 Tagen Test

[@lucababa5205]

jetzt in 2 tagen

[@thomask.1795]

Má vlast 🇨🇿

[@TheMetroGnome]

I think we just saw COVID-19 patient zero @ 24:30

[@WDRKlassik]

Hi, Franco! No worries, that's our (then and now) solo flutist Michael Faust and he is doing very fine ;)

[@maximiliangeier9637]

Wieso 6 Hörner? Die Partitur verlangt nur 4...

[@sergei335]

Ja, und eine Frau sitzt dabei und spielt nicht.

[@HornVojta]

Die Partitur verlangt 4 Hörner, da haben Sie Recht, allerdings spielt man Mein Vaterland sehr oft "verdoppelt" mit 8 Hörner. Sie können sich gerne die Eröffnungskonzerte des Festivals Prager Frühling anschauen - fast alle Ensembles spielen es so, manche sogar mit verdoppelten Holz. Wir haben uns für ein Kompromiss entschieden - 6 Hörner.

[@stefanholz1722]

@@HornVojta Meine Ich auch. Dann klingt es noch viel kräftiger!

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

Ich würde ja eher die Harfen verdoppeln und mit 4 spielen.

[@hanwenwen4898]

16:10

[@ralfbeckmann597]

❤❤❤ 😂

[@user-se5pi9ih6b]

25:50

[@louisharder4863]

Bin nur hier wegen Schule

[@ruicao9805]

Could not be better. Far better than Kubelík's one

[@camilmoujaber4813]

Belohlavek's is the best hands down

[@andrewnguyen1220]

The ending is so slow But I put 1.25x Is like Magic

[@martavdz4972]

It´s supposed to be faster. I´m Czech like Smetana and I´ve always heard this symphonic poem played quite fast.

[@maxclida1429]

演奏的拖拖拉拉的，

[@aa-jc5fx]

有名なのは　00:16:11　のヴルタヴァ です。演奏はうまいかも知れないが、情感不足で物足りない演奏である。

[@pieromagnani213]

Random fart 15:47

[@rompiendoparadigmas8408]

Zu langweilig

[@martavdz4972]

Der Orchester spielt zu langsam. Bitte hoeren Sie Jiří Bělohlávek. Smetanas Musik sollte schnell sein.

[@ilGattoMistico]

A mio parere esecuzione mediocre, spesso pasticciata, che mortifica la ricca scrittura di Smetana. Colpa della Direzione di Bychkov, non certo dell'ottima Orchestra. Ascoltate l'esecuzione di Kubelik