Smetana composed the cycle of six symphonic poems, "Ma Vlast" (My Fatherland), including "Vltava," between 1874 and 1879 while suffering from ill health and financial difficulties.
Composer Biography
Smetana began his musical education early, reportedly playing first violin in a Haydn quartet at age five.
Composer Biography
Bedřich Smetana, the composer of "The Bartered Bride" and "Vltava," was the eleventh child and first surviving son of a brewery manager.
Compositional Technique
The original version of Smetana's "The Bartered Bride" had spoken dialogue and no dances, unlike the revised version which includes sung recitative and dances.
Composer Biography
Antonín Dvořák, composer of the Slavonic Dances, came from a humbler background than Smetana, being the son of a village inn-keeper and butcher.
Composition History
Smetana's opera "The Bartered Bride" was not immediately successful at its 1866 premiere due to the imminent war between Prussia and Austria, and was later revised in 1869.
Composer Biography
Smetana's career was interrupted in 1874 by deafness, which was part of a progressive health deterioration that led to his death in an asylum in 1884.
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