Simon, thank you from the bottom of my heart for this series. It's simply amazing and I love every second of it. It's so inspiring, educational, uplifting and interesting. I always look forward to the next documentary and always learn something new. It's an absolute treat and I'm very grateful for it. I'm an art, history and music lover and this is everything combined. Thank you! Please do continue.
Very nice video. Just came across this. I heard no mention of RAFAEL KUBELIK another conductor who remained outside his homeland until the Czechs were free again. Even though it was THE BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, Maestro Kubelik really did a fantastic job when he recorded Smetana's: Ma Vlast with the orchestra. One of the best....
I lived in Prague for 8 years. Thanks for the memories. I almost cried, especially with Smetana's and Dvorak's music playing behind the scenery. (By the way, good job pronouncing Dvorak correctly!)
Wonderful! I visited Prague some 40 years ago, and did walk around a bit. I have since been mesmerized by Dvorak’s music, and, yes, give credit to Smetana for the whole Ma Vlast. There are many other composers of Czech music since then, Suk, Janacek, Fibich, and more. This could have been an hour long review, and still not scratch the surface. Furiant? All that said, thanks for screening this!
You forgot to mention, that Dvořák was offered to compose american national anthem, but refused, saying, each nation needs to write it´s own. Refusing such offer says a lot about his character and integrity.
"Moldau" is simply the German name for the river Vltava, which in fact has one of its springs in Bavaria. It is not "as the Austrians would call it". You also say "Danube" repeatedly, when you mean the Donau.
@@thesolitarycyclist9005 It is. That's why we call the river by its German name. I fail to see what is wrong with that, as the presenter in other episodes calls Russian and Italian cities by their English names (and struggles mightily, whenever he tries to pronounce non-English names correctly). And in this case, he acts like it is wrong to call the river "Moldau".
You are missing the point here. Smetana named that composition "Vltava" in the same way as Puccini named his Turandot or Verdi's La Traviata. It should be called as the composer named it and not translated to any other language.
