Smetana: The Moldau | Czech Philharmonic & Semyon Bychkov

It is one of the most popular orchestral works of the Romantic period: The Moldau (czech. Vltava) by Bedřich Smetana. Here, the classic is performed by the Czech Philharmonic under the baton of Semyon Bychkov in the magnificent Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum in Prague. The occasion was the Velvet Revolution Concert on November 17, 2020.

The Moldau (Vltava) is the second part of the six movement suite My Homeland or My Fatherland (Má Vlast) by Bedřich Smetana (1824 - 1884). All six parts of the cycle, composed between 1874 and 1879, are symphonic poems. Each of the tone poems is assigned a theme related to Bohemia's landscape, its history or its legends. With My Homeland, Smetana was part of the tradition of nationalistic music that was widespread in the 19th century. By incorporating folk tunes, the Bohemian (today: Czech) composer wanted to use music to express what could be described as a national artistic identity.

The Moldau is not only performed as part 2 of My Homeland, but has made a name for itself on its own. Smetana composed the 12-minute orchestral piece in 1874, when he was already completely deaf. The first performance of the symphonic poem took place in Prague on April 4, 1875. The Moldau is one of the most famous works of the programmatic genre. The underlying program seems very simple: Smetana translates the course of the Vltava River into an orchestral piece by means of tone painting. The composer himself describes the content as follows:

“The composition describes the course of the Vltva starting from the two small springs, the Studená and Teplá Vltava, to the unification of both streams into a single current, the course of the Vltava through woods and meadows, through landscapes where a farmer's wedding is celebrated, the round dance of the mermaids in the night's moonshine: on the nearby rocks loom proud castles, palaces and ruins aloft.”

In terms of musical form, The Moldau is a kind of rondo. The main theme appears three times as a leitmotif in varied form, with passages of a very different character in between. Smetana even notated headings for the sections in the score. Thus, when listening to the one-movement symphonic work, a clear idea of the program of The Moldau emerges, especially when considering these headings:

(00:00) 1. ʺThe sources of the Moldau“ (První pramen Vltavy)
(01:14) 2. Moldau river theme (main theme)
(03:06) 3. ʺForest Hunt“ (Lesnì honba)
(04:05) 4. ʺPeasant Wedding“ (Venkovska svatba)
(05:37) 5. ʺMoonlight: Dance of the Water Nymphs“ (Lůna; rej rusálek)
(08:41) 6. Moldau river theme (recapitulation)
(09:35) 7. ʺSt John’s Rapids” (Svatojanské proudy)
(10:55) 8. ʺThe Vltava flows broadly there“ (Siroký tok Vitavy)
(11:27) 9. ʺVyšehrad-Motiv“ (coda)

Taken as a whole, The Moldau is romantic music through and through. The main theme is as catchy as a folk song. In fact, its melody bears similarities to folk songs from various cultures. However, the Bohemian composer was also in the tradition of other Romantic composers - and there are similarities there too. At one point, for example, The Moldau is strikingly similar to the river theme at the beginning of Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold; premiered in 1869) by Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883) (03:40).

© 2020 CZECH PHILHARMONIC

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