03 September 2020

Polkas and Czech Dances by Smetana

Following up on my recent post of Czech music, here is a set of delightful polkas and Czech dances by Bedřich Smetana.

Bedřich Smetana
The composer wrote these works for piano, but in this set they are heard in orchestral guise. Smetana himself orchestrated two of the works; the other arrangements are by Iša Krejči, Jiří Hudec, Ludmilla Úlehlová, František Hertl, Otokar Zich and Václav Trojan.

Performing the works is the Brno State Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by František Jílek, who was with the Brno Opera for many years and the Brno Philharmonic from 1978-83.

František Jílek
These particular recordings date from 1971, and were made in the Stadion Studio in Brno. The sound was a tad opaque due to a dip in the upper mid-range frequency response, which I adjusted.

The download includes reviews from Gramophone and Stereo Review.

LINK (remastered version, April 2025)

František Jílek at a recording session

9 comments:

rev.b said...

Thanks Buster, always appreciated.

Rich said...

Thank you, Buster.

Rich

coppinsuk said...

Many thanks for the share.

Cheers.

Buster said...

And thank you, rev.b, Rich and Douglas!

Unknown said...

This is a wonderful addition to my music library--thank you!

centuri said...

Thanks for these new Czech Dances set.
Fantastic complement to your last Czech music post.

Buster said...

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

Addison said...

As far as I'm concerned, this is irresistible. Thank you.

Buster said...

You're welcome, Addison!