The Moldau (Vltava) is a famous symphonic poem composed by Bedřich Smetana in 1874. It is part of his larger work, Má vlast (My Homeland), a cycle of six symphonic poems celebrating Czech landscapes, history, and legends.
The piece vividly depicts the journey of the Vltava River, beginning as two small streams that merge into a mighty river flowing through the Bohemian countryside, past forests, villages, and castles, before reaching the city of Prague. Smetana uses tone painting to evoke the river’s movement, including gentle rippling, joyful dances, and dramatic swells as it passes through different landscapes.
Smetana, along with composers like Dvořák, Liszt, and Tchaikovsky, helped shape the rich, dramatic, and nationalistic style that defined much of the Romantic era.
This large work is arranged by Anthony Galla-Rini for symphonic accordion ensemble / orchestra with the instruments labelled as for the symphony orchestra (violin, viola etc.) with the music arranged for accordion plus Bass accordion, Harp, Timpani and Percussion.
