STEVES: Like so many small European nations, the Czech Republic has struggled historically and heroically among big bully neighbors. Imagine, to the north you’ve got Prussia, to the south you’ve got Austria and the Habsburgs, and to the east, Russia. This is not Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. The 19th century was a time of national awakenings. From Finland to Bulgaria, small nations were on the rise. Again, Romantic art and Romantic music championed underdog causes, and a key figure in the Czech national revival movement was the composer Bedřich Smetana.

Our next piece, “The Moldau,” gets its title from the great river that literally and emotionally connects the Czech people. But Moldau is the river’s German name, and the composer, Smetana, would much rather we call it by its Czech name, the Vltava. Over many difficult centuries, the Vltava helped preserve the language, the culture, and the identity of the Czech people. The piece is like a landscape portrait. The melody flows like a stream. It starts as a tiny brook with flutes frolicking through forests and meadows. Then, as it grows bigger, more instruments join in. We hear a merry gathering of peasants. Later hunters in the forests. And finally, with rolling timpani and crashing cymbals, will reach the stately capital of Prague.

As you’ll hear, this piece and the river it represents embodies the enduring heroic spirit of the Czech people. To this day, Czechs get a lump in their throat when they hear Smetana’s hauntingly beautiful melody, “The Vltava.”

[music: The Vltava (aka The Moldau)]