Vítězslav Novák may not exactly be a household name, but –together with another Dvořák pupil, Josef Suk – he was one of the most influential composers and teachers of the generation that followed Smetana and Dvořák.

The tone poem In the Tatras is one of his most performed works and does for the Tatras mountains (they’re on the border between Poland and Slovakia) what Richard Strauss did for the Alps in his Alpine Symphony. Listen, it’s a good piece.

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