Smetana: Má vlast - Cyklus symfonických básní - 2 LP

This vinyl release presents Bedřich Smetana’s Má vlast, performed by the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra under conductor Petr Popelka, alongside the symphonic poems Richard III, Wallenstein’s Camp and Hakon Jarl, Smetana’s Triumphal Symphony in E major, and an orchestral arrangement of String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, “From My Life,” by George Szell. Within just a few years, Petr Popelka has risen among the world’s leading conductors, serving as chief conductor of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Symphony and appearing with major European and American orchestras and at leading opera houses. For him, Smetana is not merely a compulsory national classic but a great love and a field for artistic exploration. He approaches Má vlast like an opera and a great story, shaping the cycle with musicality and an uncompromising sense of detail. Originally released on CD in 2024 to mark the 200th anniversary of Bedřich Smetana’s birth, the recording received enthusiastic international recognition, including Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice and the French Diapason d’Or de l’Année award for symphonic music. This vinyl edition, released in April 2026, commemorates the centenary of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra.