Dvorak’s work radiates powerfully on an international level; Smetana is less famous outside of his homeland, but his work has reverberated with greater force within it.
Who is Bedřich Smetana in music?
Bedřich Smetana. Written By: Bedřich Smetana, (born March 2, 1824, Leitomischl, Bohemia, Austrian Empire [now Litomyšl, Czech Republic]—died May 12, 1884, Prague), Bohemian composer of operas and symphonic poems, founder of the Czech national school of music. He was the first truly important Bohemian nationalist composer.
Who was Smetana’s father?
Smetana’s father, František Smetana, was an accomplished musician—but he was also a working-class brewer who lived out in farm country. When Smetana moved to Prague to attend school at age 15, more privileged students openly ridiculed him for his poor grasp of Czech (German being the vernacular of the broader region) and his lack of city manners.
What did Smetana František study in school?
Here, Smetana attended the local elementary school and later the gymnasium. He also studied violin and piano, discovering the works of Mozart and Beethoven, and began composing simple pieces, of which one, a dance ( Kvapiček, or “Little Galop”), survives in sketch form. In 1835, František retired to a farm in the south-eastern region of Bohemia.
What are some interesting facts about Bedrich Smetana?
Here are six interesting facts about the ambitious and versatile Bedrich Smetana: 1. He was a child prodigy. Under his father’s tutelage, Smetana began to show musical talent at a very young age. He performed in a string quartet at age 5, gave a solo piano performance at age 6, and wrote his first composition at age 8.
How well do you know Smetana?
1. He was a child prodigy. Under his father’s tutelage, Smetana began to show musical talent at a very young age. He performed in a string quartet at age 5, gave a solo piano performance at age 6, and wrote his first composition at age 8. 2. He was bullied out of school for being an uneducated country boy.
What instruments did František Smetana play?
František Smetana played violin in a string quartet, and Barbora Smetana was a dancer. Bedřich was introduced to music by his father and in October 1830, at the age of six, gave his first public performance.
