Classics of the Phonograph

My Country

 
Bedřich Smetana Among his Friends, 1865; oil painting by František Dvořák

Bedřich Smetana Among his Friends, 1865; oil painting by František Dvořák By František Dvořák (1862-1927) - Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Bedřich Smetana's tone poem, "The Moldau," is the star of his cycle, "My Country." It is played continually in the concert hall and heard on the radio. The other five tone poems are hard rarely, if at all. Yet they contain much fine music.

On this week's Classics of the Phonograph, Saturday at 11 am on WILL-FM, we will hear such works as "Sarka," and "From Bohemia's Meadows and Forests" from Smetana's masterwork.