Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Má Vlast (My Fatherland), symphonic poems (6), JB 1:112: Vysehrad
2. Má Vlast (My Fatherland), symphonic poems (6), JB 1:112: Vltava
3. Má Vlast (My Fatherland), symphonic poems (6), JB 1:112: Sárka

Disc 2:

1. Má Vlast (My Fatherland), symphonic poems (6), JB 1:112: Z ceských luhu a háju
2. Má Vlast (My Fatherland), symphonic poems (6), JB 1:112: Tábor
3. Má Vlast (My Fatherland), symphonic poems (6), JB 1:112: Blaník

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #152650 in Music
• Released on: 2003-10-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .30 pounds

Customer Reviews

For once, Harnoncourt loses his Czech touch
Those who are familiar with Harnoncourt's stunningly simple yet powerful Dvorak recordings will be deeply disappointed here. In the Dvorak triptych, Harnoncourt masterfully outlines the big tunes with plain tone colour, adopting fairly conventional tempi and resulting in extremely coherent performances. Not so here. His languid tempi (you will not be able to find any other recording which needs to spill onto a second disc) so often make each tone poem lose its structural shape, and his harping on individual melodies make things sound rather fragmentary. It is worth hearing for its entertainment and intellectual value, and it challenges your perception and conception of the piece, but not very convincingly to my ears.

A Ma Vlast like none else
There are many recordings of Smetana's most famous work, yet this is a "Ma Vlast" like none else. Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker surprises us once again with a reading of Smetana's grandiose cycle which fascinates, amazes and irritates at the same time. With very slow, dreamy tempi (the cycle runs for two CDs), painstaking care for orchestral detail and colour, emphatic, incisive chords often at the expense of the melodic flow ("Moldau", "Sarka"), and with unyielding seriousness, Harnoncourt revisits the score and the result is in places revelatory, but fails to convince as a whole. The general atmosphere is one of gentle melancholy ("Vysehrad") and there are moments when Harnoncourt superbly brings out the beauty of the music ("From Bohemia's Fields and Groves"), yet in the more dramatic passages as a listener I hardly ever felt concerned by what was going on. Harnoncourt's vision is far too intellectual and rigorous, lacking that bit of dionysian touch which makes Smetana's score such a thrilling listening experience.

As usual with Harnoncourt, "Ma Vlast" was recorded during concerts in Vienna in 2001, although the slight difference in atmosphere between the various poems is about the only audible hint that these are indeed live recordings. The Wiener Philharmoniker brass (magnificent it may be) is balanced forwardly, in tutti often in spite of the strings, but the recording is clear and dynamic, and generally honours Harnoncourt's surgical care for instrumental detail.

Because of its extreme positions this recording can not be a first choice, but for all admirers of Smetana's magnificent work this CD set is required listening. Excellent liner notes by Harnoncourt himself (in German, English, French).

Not your father's Ma Vlast
I've loved this work by Smetana for many decades now, particularly in recordings by Kubelik and Ancerl. I was first drawn by the music in Die Moldau and then introduced to the other pieces over time. When I first heard this recording by Harnoncourt and the Vienna Philharmonic, I was struck by how well Harnoncourt's interpretation tied the various tone poems together into a coherent whole. I was truly impressed by the freshness of the interpretation. Subsequent listenings have only deepened my appreciation for Harnoncourt's vision for this work.

To be sure, Harnoncourt chooses slow tempi throughout. I think this may be the only version that spans two disks; all of my other versions take less time. However, slow does not mean lifeless or languid, not in this case. Harnoncourt revels in the rhythms and melodies, allowing them their turn in the sun. The glorious playing of the Vienna Philharmonic and the excellence of the recorded sound reveal the intricacies of the various parts. Several other reviewers have rightly mentioned the outstanding brass playing. But the other parts ring out clearly too, from the harp in Vysehrad to the triangle to the clarinet solos. Even when all the parts are blended together, the blended sound still allows the listener to pick out individual parts if desired.

I am delighted to have found this performance and feel that it justly merits a spot on the shelf right next to my outstanding recordings by Kubelik (Czech Phil and Chicago Symphony Orch) and Ancerl (Czech Philharmonic).