Program

Bedřich Smetana: Má vlast (My Fatherland)

Cast

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Semyon Bychkov, conductor

Sounds of the homeland

You may think what you like about the national movements of the 19th century - but music has a lot to thank them for. Including the work that the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and its conductor Semyon Bychkov are bringing to Hanover: Bedřich Smetana's grandiose Má vlast. At a time when the Czechs were struggling to preserve their identity and strengthen their rights in the Habsburg Empire, the composer confidently created a musical monument to his homeland with this work, which lasts almost an hour and a half. Outside of the Czech Republic, of course, people are most familiar with the sometimes bubbling, sometimes majestically flowing Moldau, the second of the six movements of Má vlast. We are therefore all the more delighted to present Smetana's masterpiece to you in its entirety this season - played by an orchestra that has the music written into its DNA, so to speak.