Life story
Bedřich Smetana was born on 2 March 1824 in the ground floor of a brewery in Litomyšli, where his father worked as a brewmaster. He first appeared publicly as a six-year-old — in October 1830 he played a piano arrangement of the prelude to Auber's opera La muette de Portici at a music academy.
After studying with Josef Proksch, he worked from 1847 in Prague as a concert pianist and music teacher; in 1848 he opened his own music institute on Old Town Square. From 1856 to 1861 he was a conductor and music teacher in Swedish Gothenburg.
After returning to Prague, he became involved in Czech cultural life as a composer, music critic, and first conductor of the Provisional Theatre. He wrote The Bartered Bride, Dalibor, Libuše, and the cycle of symphonic poems My Homeland. In 1874 he went deaf — and after losing his hearing, some of his best-known works came into being. He died on 12 May 1884 in Prague. He is buried in Vyšehrad Cemetery.
Constellation of Life
Important milestones that shaped their journey.