Table of Contents
- 1 What is the political significance of The Moldau?
- 2 Why was Vltava composed?
- 3 What nationality is Smetana?
- 4 Where does The Moldau River End?
- 5 What was The Moldau inspired by?
- 6 Who wrote Má Vlast?
- 7 What is special about Bedrich Smetana?
- 8 When did Bedrich Smetana write the poem Vltava?
- 9 Why was the music called the Moldau by Smetana?
- 10 Where did the name of the Vltava come from?
What is the political significance of The Moldau?
“The Moldau” represents an exceptional expression of patriotic or nationalistic music. The musical poem reflects the pride, oppression, and hope of the Bohemian people. Before World War 1 Bohemia, presently the Czech Republic, was ruled by the Austro- Hungarian Empire.
Why was Vltava composed?
In it, Czech composer Smetana combined nationalistic melodies with musical depictions of the Bohemian countryside, history, and legends. The Moldau specifically was intended to evoke the sounds of one of Bohemia’s great rivers – the Vltava river.
Why did Bedrich Smetana composed The Moldau?
”The Moldau” is a movement found within the piece. In ”Má vlast,” Smetana wanted to celebrate his Czech homeland by composing music that depicted the legends, stories, and landscapes of Bohemia.
What nationality is Smetana?
CzechBedřich Smetana / Nationality
Bedřich Smetana, (born March 2, 1824, Leitomischl, Bohemia, Austrian Empire [now Litomyšl, Czech Republic]—died May 12, 1884, Prague), Bohemian composer of operas and symphonic poems, founder of the Czech national school of music. He was the first truly important Bohemian nationalist composer.
Where does The Moldau River End?
ElbeVltava / Mouth
It flows first southeast, then north across Bohemia, and empties into the Elbe (Czech: Labe) River at Mělník, 18 miles (29 km) north of Prague.
When was The Moldau banned?
March 1939
When Hitler and the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia in March 1939, Czech symphonies played The Moldau as a protest against the German invasion until the Nazis banned all performances of The Moldau in the capital city of Prague in an attempt to break the Czech people’s independent spirit.
What was The Moldau inspired by?
Czech composer Bed˘rich Smetana (BED-rick SMET–ah-na) was inspired to write The Moldau by nature, memories of his personal adventures, and a deep love for his country. The work is named after an actual river that runs from a mountainside, through the Czech countryside, and into the city of Prague.
Who wrote Má Vlast?
Bedřich SmetanaMá vlast / Composer
Bedřich Smetana. Má vlast ultimately became Smetana’s most enduring composition, and of its movements, the second, The Moldau, has remained the most popular. The movement starts with light, rippling figures that represent the emergence of the Moldau River as two mountain springs, one warm and one cold.
What were two main schools of music during the Romantic era?
Idealists and Realists. There were two main schools of musical thought during the Romantic era: Idealists and Realists.
What is special about Bedrich Smetana?
Bedřich Smetana, (born March 2, 1824, Leitomischl, Bohemia, Austrian Empire [now Litomyšl, Czech Republic]—died May 12, 1884, Prague), Bohemian composer of operas and symphonic poems, founder of the Czech national school of music. He was the first truly important Bohemian nationalist composer.
When did Bedrich Smetana write the poem Vltava?
Composed as part of Má vlast (My Homeland), Vltava is the second work of a set of six symphonic poems by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. The poems were composed between 1874-1879. Although now often performed as a single work in six movements, Smetana conceived them all as individual pieces.
How many movements are in Smetana Ma Vlast?
While it is often presented as a single work in six movements and – with the exception of Vltava – is almost always recorded that way, the six pieces were conceived as individual works.
Why was the music called the Moldau by Smetana?
Moldau is its German name and has come to be the preferred title for this piece, not least because Smetana himself was a German-speaking Czech. The Moldau was chronologically the second of the six works in Má Vlast.
Where did the name of the Vltava come from?
Vltava is the name of a river that runs through rural Czechoslovakia and Prague. Moldau is its German name and has come to be the preferred title for this piece, not least because Smetana himself was a German-speaking Czech. The Moldau was chronologically the second of the six works in Má Vlast.