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Smetana: Má vlast - Davis

Smetana: Má vlast - Davis

LSO Live  LSO0516

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Orchestral


Smetana: Má vlast

London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Colin Davis (conductor)


Inspired by the mythology and pastoral beauty of his Czech homeland, Smetana's six tone poems that form Má vlast (My Fatherland) is one of the best examples of Nationalism in music. The stirring second movement depicts the river Vltava as it flows through the countryside and into Prague. Struck with deafness in 1874, Smetana would never hear a performance of what would become his most popular work.

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Review by John Broggio - November 1, 2005

Well, here is the first MCH version from Europe of Smetana’s masterpiece. This is typically only known for Vltava (2nd movement) and less often Vyšehrad (1st movement) from this cycle of six tone poems. Sadly, London instead of Prague was chosen for this recording as the performance itself is pretty good (even up against the Prague Spring Festival performance from the Czech PO under Kubelik in 1990) but (and how often will people have to say this for the LSO to get the message?) the recording lets the whole enterprise down very badly.

For those that don’t know any more than the “highlights”, I strongly recommend a listen – the third movement Šárka has a wonderful triple-time polka before what has to be one of the prettiest massacres in music (Shostakovich *didn’t* take notes)! From Bohemia’s Woods and Fields (4th movement) does not set to be narrative in the same way as Šárka but is more in keeping with Vltava in describing pastoral scenes though not of the watery kind that Vltava emulates.

Tábor is closely related musically to Blaník (which ideally follows immediately in performance, without a pause to keep up the momentum). The music in Tábor is used triumphantly to depict the Hussite triumphs before transforming into the defeat of the Hussites and their retreat into hiding. At the conclusion of the cycle the grand theme of Vyšehrad returns to combine with the Hussite motto in a very grand manner. Vyšehrad, whose motto theme also appears in Vltava too, is the evocation of the first seat of Bohemian princes and as one might expect, the music is suitably full of grandeur.

For me, performers therefore need to take great care that the music does not become over-inflated or bombastic. Supreme in this intention, whilst bringing a sense of rusticity to the pastoral scenes, is the aforementioned Kubelik in his return to conducting after a long break (and shortly after the fall of oppression in what was then Czechoslovakia) – and what a return! At the end of an obviously “live” recording, there are some slight hiccups in the woodwind but nothing too disturbing, the audience is justifiably enthusiastic.

Compared to this, the LSO and Sir Colin Davis have a lot to live up to and almost manage it. Alas, almost is not really good enough. There is nothing that stands as being markedly inferior in the playing or conducting but for too long as I sat through this disc, I felt as though I was listening to someone reading the lines of a play well but not understanding the meaning of the words that they were speaking.

For instance, the strings in the moonlight passage of Vltava are quiet but in no sense of the word ethereal. There is an unmarked pause placed in Vltava just before the peasant dance too which, despite countless performances both live and on disc, I’ve never heard before and nor do I want to hear again. More generally, whilst most notes are comfortably in place and you have the feeling that everyone is working very hard at their best Bohemian sound, there is no feeling of the outdoors in the playing (not helped by the typically dry acoustic of the Barbican) or of true passion – essentially the players and conductor sound more worried about making a slip than music.

Purely from the technical viewpoint there is at least one highly noticeable occasion where there is a distracting pitch change between performances used. For an edited performance there are also far too many unintentional rough edges and areas where ensemble is poorly coordinated. The Czech PO managed better in just one evening and I suspect that the LSO could have done better too had they been performing music that they are more at home in.

The sound on this recording is typically dry and there are no surprises in this coming from the Barbican - why don't the LSO record on tour?!? In an attempt to overcome this huge drawback, the balance is very close which robs the saving grace of the Shostakovich series - the dynamic range is much smaller and so there is no sense of any genuine pianissimos and probably explains my feelings about the moonlight passage of Vltava.

Irrespective of the benefits of having MCH, I have to report that I still prefer the Kubelik RBCD sound to this issue. The dryness just doesn’t suit this voluptuous music IMHO and Supraphon manages to capture the Czech PO's wonderful sound without letting the resonance cloud the details. If only there was some resonance here...

So to sum up, this fabulous music is not well served by this latest LSO Live release and nor is the reputation of the orchestra or conductor. Sadly not recommendable to those who weren’t at the concerts and want a copy for memento purposes. Many less illustrious partnerships have served the music better and I hope it won't be too long before another combination wings its way to us, especially with Japanese companies penchant for using the Czech PO (an orchestra that, like the VPO in the Strauss family, finds it hard to play Bohemian music badly).

(Purchased)

Copyright © 2005 John Broggio and HRAudio.net

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