Bedrich Smetana - Smetana Square / Smetanovo námestí (Litomyšl, East Bohemia)
N 49° 52.360 E 016° 18.601
33U E 594131 N 5525296
The statue of the Czech national music composer, Bedrich Smetana, you can find in main historic square of his hometown Litomyšl. The square is also bearing composers name - Smetanovo námestí (Smetana Square)...
Waymark Code: WM972J
Location: Pardubický kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 07/07/2010
Views: 124
The statue of the Czech national music composer, Bedrich Smetana, you can find in main historic square of his hometown Litomyšl. The square is also bearing composers name - Smetanovo námestí (Smetana Square). Smetana's name was given to the Square in 1989. The bronze statue is the last completed work of the leading Czech sculptor Jan Štursa from 1924.
Composer Bedrich Smetana was born and lived the first years of his life in the brewery building of the Litomyšl castle. The main square of Litomyšl is named after him and his statue watches over its northern end. Possibly the most influential musician in Czech history, Smetana’s work is inextricably interconnected with the Czech National Revival of the mid-nineteenth century and to this day he is considered the father of Czech national Music.
Bedrich Smetana
March 2, 1824 (Litomyšl) – May 5, 1884 (Prague)
The founder of Czech national music was led to music by his father, Litomyšl’s brewer. At the age of 19 Smetana got a job as a music teacher in Count Leopold Thun’s family and also began to study music. To make his dream (conducting an orchestra) come true, he moved to Goteborg, Sweden, in 1856.
He returned to Prague for good in 1861. Soon he became chairman of the music department of Umelecká beseda – an association of Czech artists. He was also choirmaster of the Czech Hlahol Choir and in 1866 he conducted the orchestra of the Prozatímní Theatre. His major works date from after 1874 when deafness struck unexpectedly and he retreated from public life. He moved from Prague to Central Bohemia – Jabkenice u Mladé Boleslavi - to his daughter’s place. There he composed his major works – the operas Tajemství (The Secret), Hubicka (The Kiss) and Certova stena (The Devil’s Wall), both his string quartets, the piano cycles Sny (Dreams) and Ceské tance (Czech Dances), a number of choir compositions and the Prague Carnival for orchestra. He also completed the extraordinary cycle Má vlast (My Country). One of his major achievements was the premiere of the opera Libuše to celebrate the opening of the National Theatre in 1881.