Monday Music Appreciation #59: A beautiful river

This has to be one of my very favourite pieces of classical music. It's known as The Moldau, composed by Bedřich Smetana as part of a symphony in honor of his homeland, now known as Czechia, formerly Czechoslovakia. 

This part of the music tells the story of the river Vltava as it begins with two rivulets (hear the two flutes at the beginning?) that become a stream and eventually a beautiful river that flows through the countryside. The music evokes a country wedding on the river's banks, a moonlit dance of water nymphs, castles and ruins looking down over the river, a series of rapids, and the river's widening (it flows through Prague) before it empties into a larger river, the Elbe. The rising and falling melody carried by the strings at 11:20 of the video below have always thrilled me in a way that I can't explain.

My sister and I had the joy of listening to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra perform this piece recently, and its beauty brought tears to my eyes. This video (click here, email subscribers), with its recorded version from Raphael Kubelik and the Boston Symphony of 1971 and its gorgeous images, is the next best thing. 

If you can listen with headphones for the full experience, I recommend it! Enjoy!