Seoul Philharmony Orchestra performed the complete version of the signature Czech classical masterpiece, Bedřich Smetana´s Má vlast. The only show took place at Seoul Arts Center on July 22, 2010 http://www.seoulphil.or.kr/Perform.do?cmd=EngView&idx=130 and was conducted by guest Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša http://www.pkf.cz/en/jakub-hrusa.html

Traditionally translated as My Country (or more literally My Fatherland or My Homeland) Má vlast is a set of six symphonic poems composed between 1874 and 1879 by then already deaf composer. Smetana, who was deeply devoted to his homeland, soon became a kind of a cult figure, which reigned the Czech classical music since his death. It is not surprising, as Má vlast is possibly the most beautiful love song ever made to the Czech land by any composer. Strong melodies, optimism and a nationalist pride and feeling is seen in all of the six poems, which take the listener to six destinations across space and time – from the ancient Prague castle of Vyšehrad, to the main Czech river Vltava (Moldau), from the legendary women rebel fighter Šárka to Bohemia´s woods and fields and the famous Hussite´s fortress of Tábor. Smetana finally takes the listener to the sleeping knights or Blaník, the saviours of the Czech nation. The Vltava section – which follows the river from its humble, meandering origins in the Šumava Mountains to its broad majesty around Prague – is among the most beautiful and widely recognized pieces of Czech music worldwide.   

Má vlast really conjure up the spirit of Bohemia, its history and traditions, reflected in its landscape and it is one of those pieces every Czech knows almost by heart