Mein Vaterland

Musical Reflection on the Meaning of Home The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and its chief conductor and music director Semyon Bychkov present a new recording of Bedřich Smetana's masterpiece Má vlast (My Homeland). The album celebrates both Smetana's two-hundredth birthday and the beginning of the Year of Czech Music 2024, which has been celebrated every ten years since Smetana's 100th birthday in 1924. Má vlast (1874-1878) is a powerful symbol of the turbulent political history of the Czech Republic and has played an important role in the Czech national movement. Má vlast, which thematizes the landscape, history and legends of Bohemia, is particularly known for its world-famous Vltava melody. For Bychkov, who was born in Russia before emigrating to the United States and now lives in France, the question of "homeland" is particularly poignant - how can you be proud of the best of your heritage while at the same time coming to terms with its dark sides? The fact that the orchestra performs this groundbreaking work again with Bychkov, with whom it has developed such a close working relationship over the past years, makes the recording all the more personal and current.