Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music. Internationally he is best known for his 1866 opera The Bartered Bride and for the symphonic cycle Má vlast ("My Fatherland"), which portrays the history, legends and landscape of the composer's native Bohemia. It contains the famous symphonic poem "Vltava", also popularly known by its German name "Die Moldau" (in English, "The Moldau").
Smetana was naturally gifted as a composer, and gave his first public performance at the age of 6. After conventional schooling, he studied music under Josef Proksch in Prague. His first nationalistic music was written during the 1848 Prague uprising, in which he briefly participated. After failing to establish his career in Prague, he left for Sweden, where he set up as a teacher and choirmaster in Gothenburg, and began to write large-scale orchestral works.
In the early 1860s, a more liberal political climate in Bohemia encouraged Smetana to return permanently to Prague. He threw himself into the musical life of the city, primarily as a champion of the new genre of Czech opera. In 1866 his first two operas, The Brandenburgers in Bohemia and The Bartered Bride, were premiered at Prague's new Provisional Theatre, the latter achieving great popularity. In that same year, Smetana became the theatre's principal conductor, but the years of his conductorship were marked by controversy. Factions within the city's musical establishment considered his identification with the progressive ideas of Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner inimical to the development of a distinctively Czech opera style. This opposition interfered with his creative work, and may have hastened a decline in health that precipitated his resignation from the theatre in 1874.
By the end of 1874, Smetana had become completely deaf but, freed from his theatre duties and the related controversies, he began a period of sustained composition that continued for almost the rest of his life. His contributions to Czech music were increasingly recognised and honoured, but a mental collapse early in 1884 led to his incarceration in an asylum and subsequent death. Smetana's reputation as the founding father of Czech music has endured in his native country, where advocates have raised his status above that of his contemporaries and successors. However, relatively few of Smetana's works are in the international repertory, and most foreign commentators tend to regard Antonín Dvořák as a more significant Czech composer.
Sol turns thousands of years of human wisdom from the world’s spiritual traditions into a totally unique personality profile. To get your own profile, check compatibility with friends and much more, download the Sol App today.
Some of their strengths
Bedrich Smetana has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Energetic, Intelligent, Passionate, Productive, Confident, Resourceful, and Courageous.
Soulful and Understanding
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Bedrich Smetana is someone who is a soulful, understanding, and conscious person, who combines smarts with a deep talent for creativity and imagination. A person who is ambitious and motivated.
Adventurous and Free
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Bedrich Smetana well know them as someone who can be talented, wayward and free, like a big river or the ocean.
Productive and Perseverent
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Bedrich Smetana as someone who is productive, persevering, deliberate, and direct.
A person who is creative, has good luck with work and money, good listening skills, good relationships with people at work, is a good teacher or counselor, and who is good at organizing groups, teams, or causes.
Exacting and Achievement-oriented
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Bedrich Smetana is someone who has very high expectations for people, and who can be extremely focused on achieving goals and objectives.
They are also someone who is patient, assertive, and who is a natural leader that likes to help others in need.
Creative and Imaginative
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Bedrich Smetana tends to be someone who is sensitive, imaginative, creative, and somewhat of a dreamer. Who is intuitive and compassionate, and who has a friendly, easygoing, calming and relaxing effect on people and for whom friends and family mean the world.
Some of Bedrich Smetana's challenges
While Bedrich Smetana has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Bedrich Smetana can be Stubborn, Indecisive, Unrealistic, Hypocritical, Self-centered, Possessive, and Arrogant.
Indecisive and Unrealistic
One of Bedrich Smetana's key challenges is that they are someone who can come across as indecisive and unrealistic.
Possessive and Stubborn
Bedrich Smetana is someone who can be possessive, jealous, inflexible, and stubborn, can have a habit of being a frivolous spender, and who can feel insecure or cynical in romantic relationships and have difficulty forming productive personal and professional partnerships.
Lethargic and Unrealistic
Finally, Bedrich Smetana also can be too soft, lazy and lethargic, and who can have difficulty finding others who share a similarly dreamy outlook on life.
