Concerts
Concertgebouw Brugge – 13/09/2025 – 20:00 – PREMIERE
Programme conducted by Václav Luks
It is almost their unofficial national anthem, or at least the one that the Czechs hold close to their hearts. After focusing solely on *Vltava* (*The Moldau*) a few years ago, Anima Eterna now steps beyond the river’s course to explore the entire cycle by Smetana, from the founding legends of Czech identity to the tender and poetic landscapes of Bohemia. Each year since 1939, following a memorable concert by Václav Talich, it has opened the Prague Spring Festival. Smetana’s cycle *Má Vlast* (*My Homeland*) is an ode to Czech culture. Over the course of these six symphonic poems, it traverses the real and imaginary landscapes of Bohemian lands, from the vanished castle of Vyšehrad, symbolizing the foundation of Prague, to the legendary mountain of Blaník, where the Hussite knights slumber. With, of course, at its heart, the magical Vltava that Smetana describes from its very source on the eastern slope of the Black Mountain. It then follows its course through the St. George’s Gorge, lingers one night with the mysterious water nymphs that inhabit it, before accompanying it to its majestic entrance into Prague. For it is indeed the Vltava that gives the city its unique charm, with the breadth and beauty of its flow and the meanders that shape Prague’s singular geography.
It is almost their unofficial national anthem, or at least the one that the Czechs hold close to their hearts. After focusing solely on *Vltava* (*The Moldau*) a few years ago, Anima Eterna now steps beyond the river’s course to explore the entire cycle by Smetana, from the founding legends of Czech identity to the tender and poetic landscapes of Bohemia. Each year since 1939, following a memorable concert by Václav Talich, it has opened the Prague Spring Festival. Smetana’s cycle *Má Vlast* (*My Homeland*) is an ode to Czech culture. Over the course of these six symphonic poems, it traverses the real and imaginary landscapes of Bohemian lands, from the vanished castle of Vyšehrad, symbolizing the foundation of Prague, to the legendary mountain of Blaník, where the Hussite knights slumber. With, of course, at its heart, the magical Vltava that Smetana describes from its very source on the eastern slope of the Black Mountain. It then follows its course through the St. George’s Gorge, lingers one night with the mysterious water nymphs that inhabit it, before accompanying it to its majestic entrance into Prague. For it is indeed the Vltava that gives the city its unique charm, with the breadth and beauty of its flow and the meanders that shape Prague’s singular geography.
With the support of the tax shelter measure through Flanders Tax Shelter.