Smetana B. Má vlast / My Country / Prague Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra / J.Bělohlávek

1. Live recording from the Prague Spring International Music Festival 2011

Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) - Má vlast / My Country

Cyklus symfonických básní / A Cycle of Symphonic Poems

I. Vyšehrad 14:59

II. Vltava 12:09

III. Šárka 10:22

IV. Z českých luhů a hájů / From Bohemian Fields and Groves 12:34

V. Tábor 12:26

VI. Blaník 15:17

2. Documentary - The Most Youthful Prague Spring Opening

Total time: 102:28 Picture PAL 16:9

Recorded live at the opening concert of the 66th Prague Spring International Music Festival at the Smetana Hall of the Municipal House, Prague, May 12, 2011

Performing Smetana's My Country in its entirety is a daunting challenge even for seasoned professional orchestras. But what about an orchestra of conservatoire students ? "It's audacity, of course, yet artists only grow through challenges. And these young artists must receive a lot of them." Jiří Bělohlávek's words perhaps most appositely encapsulate the essence of the ambitious project by means of which the Prague Conservatoire celebrated the bicentenary of its foundation: opening the 2011 Prague Spring festival with My Country. Bělohlávek first encountered the 130-member student orchestra in Polička at a five-day gathering, at which he shaped their joint performance. The Prague Spring concert proved to be a great triumph. This DVD bears witness to that which was also highlighted by the critics: the young players' surprisingly high interpretational level and, above all, exceptional enthusiasm and energy. When listening to the recording, one can - with a certain new hope - recall that in previous centuries Prague could proudly boast of being the "conservatoire of Europe".

The traditional My Country opening concert, as performed by young musicians - sheer audacity that paid off.

(Supraphon 2012)