Göteborgs Symfoniker to Commemorate Bedřich Smetana’s Swedish Sojourn

On 23 May, Göteborgs Symfoniker will perform one of the so-called “Swedish” Symphonic Poems written by Bedřich Smetana in Gothenburg between 1856 and 1861. Let’s take a little look back in history and recall this important stage in Smetana’s life.

Bedřich Smetana left for Sweden in the autumn of 1856, shortly after a family tragedy struck him when all three of his children died in quick succession and his first wife, Kateřina, fell ill with tuberculosis. He did not compose in his first two years in Sweden. He opened a music school there, also gave private lessons and, with his compatriot Josef Čapek, founded the tradition of subscription chamber concerts in Gothenburg. It was his visit to Franz Liszt in Weimar that gave him a new impulse to compose. Following his example, he turned to programme music on his return to Sweden and composed three symphonic poems: Richard III, Wallenstein’s Camp and Hakon Jarl. The third, inspired by the life of the Norwegian king Haakon Sigurdsson, will be performed by Göteborgs Symfoniker at the Prague Spring Festival.

The Mysterious Beauty Fröjda Benecke

Fröjda Benecke was an important part of Smetana’s life in Gothenburg, although their relationship is still shrouded in mystery. After their first meeting, the enchanted Smetana wrote a composition for her, Ball Vision, in which he incorporated letters from Fröjda’s name, F – E – D – A. His diary entries from early 1859 suggest that he and Fröjda became very close, but the true intensity of their relationship is unknown. Fröjda Benecke still played an important role in Smetana’s life in the early 1870s, when Smetana became ill and began to lose his hearing. At that time he asked his Swedish friends for help and Fröjda organised a collection for him, which raised over 1,200 guldens for his treatment. However, even doctors abroad could no longer help him.