Smetana's Ma Vlast is a mammoth work, lasting here over 76 minutes, you have to have a bit of time on your hands to indulge, a work so long can have a tendency to lose your attention if it's weak, but i never find this with Ma Vlast, though i do find that i can't listen to it all that often, in fact this is the very first time that Smetana appears in my Blog.
James Levine is American, he's now 69, because of health problems he's been out of action for quite a while, he recorded this disc live in 1986, the front cover may look like a photo from afar, but really it's a painting by Rudolph Distler.
The second movement Vltava / Moldau is justly hailed as the cream of these six Symphonic Poems, it represents the main river running through the breadth of the Czech Republic, almost a biography of the river as it winds its way through the land, it lasts roughly 12 minutes, and of course has very different sections, a quicksilver flute opens things, with the odd pizzicato [0:00-0:57], Smetana seems to like intros like this, the strong string theme that follows is very nationalistic in flavour, and of course it has a lovely 'flow' to it, as you would realise a Symphonic Poem about a river would, when the brass come in, and the busy strings [2:48+] it makes a heady steam of almost a brass band, and Smetana can't resist a lively dance [3:44+], i just love the way Smetana uses a very gentle ethereal way with the music [5:24-7:36], high treble violins, though quiet, and flutes in the background, it's quite ghostly, and very soothing too, of course Smetana finished on a real forte, bringing in the main tune from the first movement, in resplendent glory [10:03+], the ending is nice, like waves going up and down, though growing quiet, the whole things is a lazy trip down the river, just letting the current take over.
Here's Alexis Hauser conducting the second movement Vltava on YouTube.
The second movement Vltava / Moldau is justly hailed as the cream of these six Symphonic Poems, it represents the main river running through the breadth of the Czech Republic, almost a biography of the river as it winds its way through the land, it lasts roughly 12 minutes, and of course has very different sections, a quicksilver flute opens things, with the odd pizzicato [0:00-0:57], Smetana seems to like intros like this, the strong string theme that follows is very nationalistic in flavour, and of course it has a lovely 'flow' to it, as you would realise a Symphonic Poem about a river would, when the brass come in, and the busy strings [2:48+] it makes a heady steam of almost a brass band, and Smetana can't resist a lively dance [3:44+], i just love the way Smetana uses a very gentle ethereal way with the music [5:24-7:36], high treble violins, though quiet, and flutes in the background, it's quite ghostly, and very soothing too, of course Smetana finished on a real forte, bringing in the main tune from the first movement, in resplendent glory [10:03+], the ending is nice, like waves going up and down, though growing quiet, the whole things is a lazy trip down the river, just letting the current take over.
