Smetana: Má Vlast – Karel Ančerl (1963)

 A legendary recording by Karel Ančerl and the Czech Philharmonic from 1963.

In general, the Czech Supraphon recordings from the analogue era have a very good, warm and natural sound, as do their counterparts from the East German Eterna label. My personal guess is that they used very few microphones (and a lot of time and dedication) to achieve a fairly realistic soundstage, similar to what RCA and Mercury did for their Living Stereo and Living Presence series. However, this particular recording sounded a bit thin, definitely lacking bass.

For the last 20 years, this performance has only been available in the Karel Ancerl Gold Edition, which should definitely be avoided because it has been ruined by excessive noise reduction. Generally, the best CD issues of the Supraphon recordings are the "stamp" series from the 1990s. I therefore chose this release as the basis for my remastering. By simple equalization, I was able to achieve a wonderful warm sound. The music should be heard at relatively high volume to sound right.

Smetana: Má Vlast (A Cycle Of Symphonic Poems)
1. Vyšehrad  14:16
2. Vltava  12:29
3. Šárka  9:50
4. From Bohemia's Woods and Fields  12:13
5. Tábor  12:17
6. Blaník  13:42

Recorded at the Dvorak Hall of Rudolfinum, Prague, on 7, 10, 13 and 14 January, 1963

Original CD: Supraphon 11 1925 - 2 011