Life

Bedřich Smetana was born on 2 March 1824 as the son of a brewer in the castle brewery in Litomyšl. Already in his childhood he showed musical talent and learned the violin and piano. In his youth he worked as a pianist and teacher, first in aristocratic families and later in his own music institute in Prague. During his five-year stay in Gothenburg, Sweden (1856-1861), where he was a very important figure in the cultural life there, he matured artistically and humanly. After his return to Prague, he was involved in the founding of important cultural associations and institutions, held the position of Kapellmeister of the Provisional Theatre and significantly influenced the artistic direction of Prague's cultural life in the second half of the 19th century. It is indisputable that his work played a huge role not only in Czech musical life, but has long since transcended the borders of the domestic environment. After losing his hearing, he devoted himself almost exclusively to composition and produced his most important works. From 1876 he lived with his daughter Žofie's family in Jabkenice. He died in 1884 in Prague.

Bedřich Smetana is remembered as the author of important operatic and symphonic works, but also in the field of piano and chamber music. The cycle of symphonic poems My Country and the opera The Bartered Bride, whose melodies are well remembered, are popular worldwide and today form an inseparable part of European musical culture.

Biography