wer of Liszt, he definitely succeeded in the incorporation
of Bohemian traits with the current musical idiom just as Liszt had
done with Hungarian folk-music. Smetana's style is thoroughly
original, his form is free yet coherent and he has a color sense and
power of orchestral description peculiar to his race. Bohemia is one
of the most picturesque countries in the world and the spirit of its
woodlands, streams and mountains is always plainly felt in Bohemian
music. The Bohemians are an out-of-door people with an inborn instinct
for music (with its basic factors of rhythm and sound) by which they
express the vigorous exuberance of their temperament.[326] Smetana's
significant work lies in his numerous operas, his symphonic poems and
in the remarkable String Quartet in E minor entitled "Aus meinem
Leben." The operas deal with subjects so strongly national that they
can have but little vogue outside their own country. However, _Prodana
Nevesta_--_The Bartered Bride_--has been universally recognized as one
of the genuine comic operas in modern times and its spirited Overture
(the first theme on a fugal basis) is played the world over. His six
Symphonic Poems, comprised under the title _Mein Vaterland_, are works
of considerable power and brilliant orchestral treatment. Perhaps the
finest sections are _Vltava_ (Moldau), celebrating the beauties of
Bohemia's sacred river, and _Vy[vs]ehrad_, a realistic description of
the national fortress at Prague.[327] The Quartet in E minor, noted
for its freedom and intimacy of style, has become a classic. Whenever
it was performed Smetana wished the sub-title "Aus Meinem Leben" to be
printed on the program; for, as he says in a letter to a friend, "My
quartet is no mere juggling with tones; instead I have wished to
present the hearer with pictures of my life. I have studied theory; I
know what style means and I am master of it. But I prefer to have
circumstances determine form and so have written this quartet in the
form which it itself demanded." In the first and last of the four
movements there is a long sustained high E, symbolic of the buzzing
sound which the composer constantly heard as his congenital deafness
increased. This malady finally affected his mind and was the cause of
his tragic death in an asylum at Prague.

[Footnote 324: His surname is to be accented on the first syllable--a
fact which may be remembered from the story attributed to Liszt who,
once asking Smetana how h