Bedřich Smetana (BED-zhrikh SMEH-ta-nah) was from Bohemia, now the Czech Republic. He brought attention to the music of the young Dvořák, also from Bohemia and also interested in the folk songs of his people. (Remember Dvořák's New World Symphony in Themes To Remember, Volume 1.)

One of Smetana's most famous and appealing compositions is a set of six tone poems called Má Vlast (My Fatherland). The Moldau (or Vltava in Czech) is the name of the mighty river that runs through much of the country.

The music begins with two solo flutes that represent the two mountain streams that form the source of the river. As the river grows, so does the sound of the orchestra. Instruments enter one after the other until one hears a mighty river of sound. The river flows through woods where hunting horns are heard. Onward it goes through fields, past a peasant wedding celebration and water nymphs at play. It passes over rapids and on through the great city of Prague. Smetana's music, like that of Dvořák's, catches the flavor of the Bohemian people. The melodies are so singable that they linger in our ears. 

The Bartered Bride is the best known of the several operas Smetana wrote. It includes polkas, lush melodies and choruses. It won the heart of the Czech people and is still a favorite of opera audiences.

Smetana was very influential in the Czech movement for freedom from foreign rule. He was not happy that his country was under Austrian domination, so he moved to Sweden for a time, introducing audiences to the "new" music of Mendelssohn, Liszt, and Wagner. Liszt was his lifelong friend. When the political conditions in his home country improved, he returned and became the musical leader of the Czechs.