Smetana - Má vlast - Sir Colin Davis - London Symphony Orchestra - LSO0516 (2005) SACD rip via PS3 to iso (4.17GB) | 24bit/88.2kHz flac | Mch (3.09GB) (+5.44dB gain) | 2ch (1.2GB) DR14 (+4.34dB gain) | Classical DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording by Classic Sound :) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inspired by the mythology & pastoral beauty of his Czech homeland, Smetana's 6 tone poems that form Má vlast (My Fatherland) is 1 of the best examples of Nationalism in music. The stirring 2nd movement depicts the river Vltava as it flows through the countryside & into Prague. Struck with deafness in 1874, Smetana would never hear a performance of what would become his most popular work ‘Má Vlast’ is the ultimate Nationalist musical composition. The title means ‘My Country’ & it’s opening bars are probably as well known to the average Czech, as ‘Land of Hope & Glory’ is to the average Brit. The 6 movements that make up Smetana’s gloriously chauvinistic hymn to the Czech nation were 1st performed in what is now the Smetana Concert Hall in Prague in 1882. There are now annual performances in the Smetana Hall & ‘Má Vlast’ is regularly performed as the opening concert of the Prague Spring Festival. It was therefore something more than a surprise when the London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis were invited to give the opening concert of the Prague Spring in 2005 & the piece they were asked to play was ‘Má Vlast’. This could have been seen as a rather impertinent example of taking coals to Newcastle, but Sir Colin & the LSO are never ones to duck a challenge & the performance was a huge success. Many members of the Czech Philharmonic were in the audience & after the performance – with extraordinary generosity – they congratulated their London colleagues & Sir Colin on bringing a fresh perspective to Smetana’s iconic work. After opening the Prague Spring the LSO gave 2 further performances of ‘Má Vlast’ at the Barbican & it is from these performances that the present recording is taken. The Czechs were ecstatic about LSO’s reading of Smetana’s masterpiece. We hope you are too. Reviews: Colin Davis & the LSO turn in a vivid, exciting account of Smetana's perennially fresh, dramatic cycle of tone poems ... the best performances of this work must convey a sense of occasion, of a big event taking place ... Davis & the LSO have managed to capture this elusive quality. ~ ClassicsToday.com There can be no mistaking the conviction that he brings to the cycle ... Davis never loses sight of the outcome - the main motifs coalescing into an apotheosis both uninhibited & triumphant. ~ International Record Review Colin Davis has an affinity with Czech music that is every bit as strong as his better-known sympathy with Berlioz or Mozart ... a performance that welds the 6 portraits into a convincing whole. The LSO plays with warmth & grandeur & the recorded balance is 1 of the most successful in this series. ~ Daily Telegraph Amazon review by john563: New highs for recording techniques. By pure coincidence I put on a CD called 'James Levine dirigert' from Deutsche Grammophon the night before I received the LSO disc in the mail. On the CD from DG there is a recording of Die Moldau (Vltava) from 1987, which I had forgotten all about. DG is known for good recordings also, but when I heard the new version the next day in SACD Mch, it was almost as if it is not the same music. The recording techniques have improved so much over the last few years to capture much more of the dynamics in the music, & the Mch adds more space & transparency to it. If you still not have a SACD player, you proberly don't know what you're missing. Don't hesitate to buy 1 - the prices are for everyone to afford now. Just a hint :-) HRAudio.net reviews: http://www.hraudio.net/showmusic.php?title=3297#reviews Tracks: Movement I Vysehrad Movement II Vltava Movement III Sárka Movement IV Z ceských luhu a háju Movement V Tábor Movement VI Blaník Musicians: London Symphony Orchestra Sir Colin Davis Recording: Recorded May 2005, Barbican, London Jonathan Stokes for Classic Sound Ltd balance engineer http://www.filefactory.com/folder/7ed7d26eadd60377 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Checksum for iso: 6efad022951e8e4092394dfcaf771b86 *Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - SMETANA Ma vlast.iso Checksum for flac tracks Mch: b9eb20b5a1a12fa8d378da19372177e7 *01 - Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Ma vlast, Vysehrad.flac 85b81adce5c2ea34cce631c04a415c53 *02 - Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Ma vlast, Vltava.flac a6322d3ac8551b8f2153722bb91fef50 *03 - Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Ma vlast, Sarka.flac ff913c2fcd7bc2c13571a90931469d05 *04 - Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Ma vlast, Z ceskych luhu a haju.flac 99f4552bd75c37f00dabe68dfb6fece7 *05 - Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Ma vlast, Tabor.flac 22f5bd9fbe33c8e464004432b54ecdce *06 - Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Ma vlast, Blanik.flac Checksum for flac tracks 2ch: 99fc93a0f95657495a551fcdd0c1be51 *01 - Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Ma vlast, Vysehrad.flac 635e029b804171fdfc9f72e5f1a3f382 *02 - Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Ma vlast, Vltava.flac 25270b0927fce75c9189376621765d50 *03 - Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Ma vlast, Sarka.flac c0b8a8c3d48b32d4779f49b2aabe89be *04 - Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Ma vlast, Z ceskych luhu a haju.flac 69f1cf05a4c880c3c6ef52d6cc1158ff *05 - Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Ma vlast, Tabor.flac ce251bb2343ca34ff75dcc693ab2a3d5 *06 - Sir Colin Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Ma vlast, Blanik.flac