BEDRICH SMETANA
"Here is a composer with genuine Czech heart, an artist by the grace of God"- Franz Liszt
Bedřich Smetana, born in 1824, was a composer from the Romantic period. He was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of nationalism, which became closely identified with his country's aspirations. He is therefore widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music. Internationally, he is best known for his opera ‘The Bartered Bride’, the symphonic cycle ‘Ma Vlast’, and his ‘First String Quartet From My Life’. His music combines a strong symphonic technique with melodic and rhythmic ideas derived from Bohemian folk traditions (Yang. K, 1997).
Born into a large family, Smetana showed exceptional musical talent as a child, composing many well-known works and performing on the violin and piano at an early age (Wiki, 2013).
In 1856 Smetana accepted a position as conductor of the Philharmonic Society of Göteborg, Sweden. Soon after, in 1861, Smetana returned to Prague. In 1866, Copland wrote an opera, ‘The Brandenburgers In Bohemia’, which was his first work based on national themes. The tension of war shadowed the success of Smetana's second opera ‘The Bartered Bride’, composed in 1866. This opera instantly raised him to the status of Bohemia's leading composer and won him international success (Yang.K, 1997)
Smetana’s works reflect the lilting character of his homeland, and are harmonically and structurally influenced by the music of Liszt and Berlioz. He is also noted as the real founder of Czech music and a predecessor of Czech composers such as Dvoràk, Suk, Martinu (Yang. K, 1997)
In the remaining years of his life, Smetana wrote six more operas, all on national subjects. Sadly, while composing, Smetana developed a nervous disorder, continually hearing noises in his head and at times suffering memory lapses. In 1874, he was forced to resign from his conducting position, and at the end of that year he was permanently deaf. In 1884, Smetana was committed to a mental institution, where he died a few months later (Wiki, 2013).