Moving from the Poles and Hungarians to their neighbouring Czechs, the first of their most famous nationalist composers must be this man:
Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884)
Smetana celebrated the people, history and countryside of his native Bohemia in his nine operas (most famously Prodaná nevěsta [The Bartered Bride]) and in a series of six tone poems under the title Má vlast [My country] which includes the popular musical depiction of the course of the river that flows through Prague, the Vltava.
Vyšehrad (The High Castle)
Vltava (The Moldau)
Šárka
Z českých luhů a hájů (From Bohemia’s Woods and Fields)
Tábor
Blaník
He also celebrated his own life in two ‘autobiographical’ string quartets, both entitled Z mého života [From my life].
Má vlast
I. Vyšehrad 0:06
II. Vltava 16:08
III. Šárka 29:05
IV. Z českých luhů a hájů 39:35
V. Tábor 53:00
VI. Blaník 1:06:05
Z mého života
From my life, the first quartet in e-minor, here played by the legendary Czech ensemble, named after the composer – the Smetana Quartet:
0:00 Allegro vivo appasionato
8:00 Allegro moderato a la Polka
13:47 Largo sostenuto
22:11 Vivace. Meno presto
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Pontarddulais!
The Art of Listening 