Smetana Szeps-Znaider

Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884) played a central role in the development of a Czech musical tradition – so central that he became known as the “father of Czech music”. He started composing as a child, but it was only in the 1860s that he assumed a pivotal position in Prague’s music scene. In 1866 he became the Principal Conductor of the city’s Opera, which presented two of his first operas in the same year. The first of these, The Bartered Bride, would ensure Smetana’s international breakthrough.

In the 1870’s, Smetana’s hearing began to fail, and he grew gradually deaf. He was forced to give up his conducting career but he continued to compose. In the years 1874–1879 he wrote six independent symphonic poems which have since been gathered into one big work titled Má Vlast – My Homeland. Each piece depicts well-known features of Czech landscape, history or mythology. One of these is Smetana’ s best known work: Vltava or Moldau, which describes the country’s longest river.

Nikolai Szeps-Znaider has appeared with the Oslo Philharmonic several times as a violin soloist, most recently in 2018. He returns as a conductor, with the first complete performance of Má Vlast in the orchestra’s history.

(Translation from Norwegian: Sarah Osa)