CreatripTeam

The Czech Philharmonic, led by conductor Semyon Bychkov, performed all six symphonic poems of Bedřich Smetana’s Má Vlast (“My Country”) at Seoul Arts Center on Oct. 28, filling the hall with music inspired by Czech nature and national identity. The 80-minute program — rare to hear complete outside the Czech Republic — highlighted the famous second piece, Vltava (Moldau) (a tone poem evoking the Moldau river), with flowing exchanges among flute, harp and violins, and the dramatic third movement Šárka, based on a Czech legend about a female warrior. Bychkov’s precise yet expressive conducting drew warm ovations from the audience, and the performance carried extra meaning on Czech Independence Day.