<\/p>
Czech Philharmonic\/
Pentatone PTC5187203 81:02 mins\u00a0<\/em><\/p> Few works enjoy a more distinguished discography than M\u00e1 Vlast<\/em>, the crowning glory of\u00a0Smetana\u2019s orchestral output. Rafael\u00a0Kubel\u00edk alone made five commercial recordings \u2014 his last with the Czech Philharmonic, for whom this music is practically the Bible. Semyon Bychkov began immersing himself in M\u00e1 Vlast<\/em> not long after being appointed as the orchestra\u2019s music director in 2018, but has waited until now to record the cycle of six tone poems, with the release timed for Smetana\u2019s bicentenary.<\/p> Mixing nature with historical and mythical heroics, the six freestanding movements offer the listener a sweeping tour of Czech culture and landscape. Though the first two tone poems (\u2018Vy\u0161ehrad\u2019 and \u2018Vltava\u2019) are justifiably popular, it hardly needs saying that there is nothing banal about Bychkov\u2019s meticulously mapped performances and that his attention to detail never stifles the music\u2019s spontaneity.\u00a0<\/p> Finding an almost operatic (wordless, of course) energy, he tightens the dramatic screw in \u2018\u0160arka\u2019 before relaxing into a joyous account of \u2018From Bohemia\u2019s Woods and Fields\u2019 that points up, fittingly, a fleeting allusion to Beethoven\u2019s \u2018Pastoral\u2019 Symphony. The final two panels, \u2018T\u00e1bor\u2019 and \u2018Blan\u00edk\u2019, can turn bombastic in some performances, but Bychkov finds their fervour (the Hussites lurk here) while giving the music a spiritual halo. <\/p> This aura also reflects the unique warmth of the Czech Phil and its hall in the heart of Prague, the Rudolfinum, not to mention the work of Bychkov\u2019s longstanding recording producer Holger Urbach. <\/p> In sum, an enriching M\u00e1 Vlast<\/em> up there with the other indisputably great performances.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By John Allison Published: Thursday, 28 March 2024 at 17:28 PM Czech Philharmonic\/Semyon Bychkov Pentatone PTC5187203 81:02 mins\u00a0 Few works enjoy a more distinguished discography than M\u00e1 Vlast, the crowning glory of\u00a0Smetana\u2019s orchestral output. Rafael\u00a0Kubel\u00edk alone made five commercial recordings \u2014 his last with the Czech Philharmonic, for whom this music is practically the Bible. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":40847,"template":"","categories":[1,79,19],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/smetana-ma-vlast.jpg",900,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/smetana-ma-vlast-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/smetana-ma-vlast-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/smetana-ma-vlast-768x768.jpg",768,768,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/smetana-ma-vlast.jpg",800,800,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/smetana-ma-vlast.jpg",900,900,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/03\/smetana-ma-vlast.jpg",900,900,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By John Allison Published: Thursday, 28 March 2024 at 17:28 PM Czech Philharmonic\/Semyon Bychkov Pentatone PTC5187203 81:02 mins\u00a0 Few works enjoy a more distinguished discography than M\u00e1 Vlast, the crowning glory of\u00a0Smetana\u2019s orchestral output. Rafael\u00a0Kubel\u00edk alone made five commercial recordings \u2014 his last with the Czech Philharmonic, for whom this music is practically the Bible.…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/40846"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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