Search - Smetana, Czech Philharmonic Orch, Talich :: Talich Conducts Smetana: Ma Vlast / Polka Nasim Devam

Historic recording for the ages

David Landau | Los Angeles, CA USA | 11/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording of Smetana's symphonic cycle was created under wartime conditions; Talich and the Czech orchestra recorded by engineers from Electrola, the German branch of EMI, in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. Like a good number of recordings by German studios in this period, it's marvelously clear and well-proportioned. And it's not just the magnificent music that emerges; it's a pure taste of history as well. I actually find this recording, in technical terms, more vivid than the later (1954) recording of the cycle by the same conductor and orchestra. That later recording was made in Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia, and by the side of the German records the Soviet-period sound leaves a murky impression. It's not the first time I've encountered this. Anyway, the wartime recording is a priority purchase for anyone who's digging deeply into this always-fascinating music."