Smetana suffered the same tragic fate that befell Beethoven: deafness.

Yet, like Beethoven, while deaf he composed some of his greatest works, including the six Symphonic Poems of his cycle Ma Vlast (My Fatherland) and the two string-quartets. In Smetanas case the deafness which struck him at about age 50, was followed by mental deterioration. Both men probably suffered as much from the cures and remedies prescribed by their physicians, from drinks of mercury in Beethovens case, to electrical treatments in Smetanas. Father of the Czech musical revival, composer of the ebullient Bartered Bride, Smetanadied in an insane asylum outside of Prague. Yet the spirit of what Smetana pioneered was carried on into our century by Antonin Dvorak, Leos Janacek and Bohuslav Martinu. As might be expected from this Quartets subtitle From My Life, there is an autobiographical program to this work, although the music can stand quite on its own without ones knowing the program. (Smetana felt it to be a private matter). However, he did provide written commentary. As to the choice of the Quartet medium, Smetana wrote "in a sense it is private and therefore written for four instruments, which should converse together in an intimate circle about the things that so deeply trouble me." "As regards my Quartet, I gladly leave others to judge its style, and I shall not be in the least angry if this style does not find favor or is considered contrary to what was hitherto regarded as Quartet Style. I did not set out to write a Quartet according to recipe or custom in the usual forms...with me the form of every composition is dictated by the subject itself and thus the Quartet, too, shaped its own form. My intention was to paint a tone picture of my life." Smetana comments on each of the four movements. "The first movement depicts my youthful leanings toward art, the Romantic atmosphere, the inexpressible yearning of something I could neither express nor define, and also a kind of warning of (my) future misfortune." I placed the word "my" in parentheses because in the course of researching these notes, I found the same quote, with the exception of the word "my" in two different books. One musicologist whose quote did not contain "my" went on to explain that the misfortune alluded to was Smetanas having to flee his homeland for Sweden because of the Revolution of 1848 The other musicologist whose quote included "my" explained that Smetana was referring to his future deafness. Even with the composers own words, there is disagreement. Again, Smetana, on the second movement; "A quasi-polka brings to mind the joyful days of youth when I composed dance music and gave it away right and left to other young folk, being known myself as a passionate lover of dancing." This tune given to the viola is to be played, according to the composer, "quasi tromba" (like a trumpet). The third movement, he continues," reminds me of the happiness of my first love, the girl who later became my first wife." Smetanas wife died during their exile in Sweden, which could account for the pensive quality of this movement - could this be the misfortune alluded to ? The fourth movement describes "The discovery that I could treat national elements in music, and my joy in following this path until it was checked by the catastrophe of the onset of my deafness, the outlook into the sad future, the tiny rays of hope of recovery, but remembering all the promise of my early career, a feeling of painful regret." There is a point in this movement where the music abruptly breaks off, followed by a low tremolo. Above this, the violin plays a long high piercing note. "The long insistent note in the

finale owes its origin to this (his deafness). It is the fateful ringing in my ears of the highpitched tones which, in 1874, announced the beginning of my deafness. I permitted myself this little joke because it was so disastrous to me." After a series of short quotes from the various movements building to a climax, the music fades away into silence. The entire work was completed within two months. The first performance was a private one, in Prague, in 1878 with Antonin Dvorak as violist. The official premiere took place in Prague on March 28, 1879 played by Ferdinand Lachner, Jan Pelikan, Josef Krehan and Alois Neruda. The work also exists in a transcription for orchestra by the great conductor George Szell.