Kabeláč: Eight Preludes, Motifs from Exotic Lands - Smetana: Dreams

Miloslav Kabeláč (1908–1979) – Eight Preludes for Piano, Op. 30; Motifs from Exotic Lands for Piano, Op. 38. Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884) – Rêves (Dreams). Six Characteristic Pieces for Piano

Jan Bartoš – piano

What do Bedřich Smetana and Miloslav Kabeláč have in common that they feature on Jan Bartoš’s new album? Both of them were distinguished composers, conductors and pianists. Both of them created modern and timeless music for piano, which, however, remains overshadowed by their symphonic works. Smetana was writing his cycle Rêves (1875) at the time when he was completing Šárka and From Bohemian Fields and Groves, perhaps the most remarkable of the six tone poems comprising Má vlast. Kabeláč was composing the two piano cycles, Op. 30 and Op. 38, while also focusing on Mystery of Time, his symphonic magnum opus, which in recent years has been discovered by some of the world’s most renowned orchestras, in Berlin, Cleveland, London and elsewhere.