10/10 ClassicsTodayFrance
"Under Claus Peter Flor, the MPO has an appropriately epic sweep and technicolor brilliance, and dispatch this music with really striking dramatic flair." MusicWeb International; "A tremendously exciting performance of Má Vlast, one that compares favorably to any in the catalog." ClassicsToday.com; "In künstlerischer wie technischer Hinsicht hervorragend." Pizzicato; "Un très beau disque." Diapason
By gathering six symphonic poems under the title Má Vlast (‘My Country‘), Bedřich Smetana created what is probably the most extensive portrayal of any geographical region in the history of music.
In his cycle (composed between 1874 and 1879) Smetana combined the new genre of symphonic poem, a term coined by Liszt in 1854, with the then highly fashionable ideals of nationalistic music. The result was an instant success – not just on Smetana‘s home ground, but also internationally – and the various parts (especially The Moldau) still remain favourites in concert halls all over the world. Female warriors, Christian reformers, medieval fortresses and peasant festivals – all of these appear in the broad fresco in which Smetana depicted his beloved Bohemia.
Ranging from idyllic to grandiose, the music is here performed by Claus Peter Flor and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.
