Bedrich Smetana

The "father of Czech music" suffered through the revolt of June 1848 in Prague, continuing to support Czech nationalism in all of his music. Smetana was strongly influenced by Liszt, who praised him, and his symphonic writing shows a pronounced feeling for scene-setting and drama, even containing some of the "leitmotiv" technique of Wagner. Smetana's masterpiece is considered to be the symphonic tone poem cycle Má Vlast (My Country), from which Vltava (The Moldau) and From Bohemian Fields and Groves are the most popular sections. ~ Blue Gene Tyranny