Bedřich Smetana and the Two Springs

Duration: 22 minutes | Composer: Bedřich Smetana

Deep beneath the mountains, two springs bubble up to begin an incredible journey—joining together to become the mighty Moldau River. Smetana painted this entire voyage in music, from tiny trickling streams to a grand river flowing past ancient castles. This episode follows the water’s path through one of classical music’s most beloved tone poems.

What You'll Learn

Discover what a tone poem is — orchestral music that paints pictures and tells stories without any words, where your ears become your eyes
Learn how Smetana used different instruments to represent real things — flutes rippling like springs, horns galloping like hunters, strings flowing like a mighty river
Understand how Smetana loved his homeland of Bohemia so deeply that he wrote six pieces of music about its rivers, legends, forests, and castles — a musical love letter called Má vlast (My Homeland)
Explore how Smetana continued composing his greatest works even after becoming completely deaf and hearing a constant high-pitched ringing in his ears
Experience how music can take you on a journey — following the Moldau River from two tiny springs all the way to the ancient castle of Prague

Music Featured

Composer	Title	Source
Bedřich Smetana	Vltava (Die Moldau) from Má vlast	archive.org
Bedřich Smetana	Má vlast: From Bohemia's Woods and Fields	archive.org
Bedřich Smetana	Má vlast: Vyšehrad	archive.org

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