Classical album of the week - Czech PO/Bělohlávek – Smetana's Má Vlast

The Guardian 80

(Decca)

Czech music was always what defined Jiři Bělohlávek as a conductor. In his six years with the BBC Symphony Orchestra he conducted a wide range of works, from Mozart to the present day, but it was the music of his fellow countrymen that consistently brought the best from him. Many of those performances – of Suk, Janáček and especially Martinů, as well as Smetana and Dvořák – have been released on disc, but he also recorded extensively with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, where he took over as chief conductor for a second time after leaving the BBC, and where he remained until his death last year at the age of 71.

Related: Jiří Bělohlávek obituary