Bedřich Smetana was the most prominent Czech composer before Dvořák, and was first to include material from the popular and folkloric music in its own. He is remebered primarily for the great cycle My Country - including The Moldau -, but his melodic genius expressed itself in many pieces from various genres: operas (The Bartered Bride, Libuše, Dalibor), piano, chamber music (his trio and quartets are strikingly modern in tone). This collection offers a wide panorama of Smetana’s art, and features Leif Ove Andsnes, Roger Norrington, Martha Argerich, András Schiff, the Alban Berg Quartett, Lucia Popp, Eliahu Inbal, the Trio Fontenay, André Cluytens, Eva Urbanová…
