The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and its chief conductor and music director Semyon Bychkov present a new recording of Bedřich Smetana's masterpiece Má vlast (My Homeland). The album celebrates both the bicentenary of Smetana's birth and the beginning of the Year of Czech Music 2024, which has been celebrated every ten years since Smetana's 100th birthday in 1924. Má vlast (1874-1878) is a powerful symbol of the turbulent political history of the Czech Republic and has played an important role in the Czech national movement. Má vlast, which focuses on the landscape, history and legends of Bohemia, is best known for its world-famous Vltava melody. For Bychkov, who was born in Russia before emigrating to the United States and now lives in France, the question of "homeland" is particularly poignant - how can one be proud of the best of one's heritage while confronting its darker sides? The fact that the orchestra is revisiting this groundbreaking work with Bychkov, with whom it has developed such a close working relationship in recent years, makes the recording all the more personal and topical.