Bedrich Smetana
Bedrich Smetana, (1824-84). Czech composer. Smetana studied music against his father’s wishes and worked as a conductor in Sweden from 1856 to 1861. On his return to Bohemia, he composed operas such as The Bartered Bride (1866) for the new nationalist opera house in Prague. In 1874 he became totally deaf, but was still able to compose a group of symphonic poems, including My Country (1874) and The Moldau (1874), inspired by the scenery of Bohemia. The continuous high-pitched whistling that afflicted him in his deafness was represented in one of his string quartets by long high notes on the violin. He died insane.
