Playlist
Folk Reflections
Folk Reflections brings together vibrant, earthy, and evocative works inspired by the sounds of the people - melodies passed down through generations and reimagined by master composers. Explore the soulful lyricism of Czech composers like Dvořák and Janáček, the windswept landscapes of Scandinavia through Grieg and Sibelius, and the deeply expressive Polish voices of Lutosławski, Górecki, and Weinberg. This collection invites you to hear how folk roots continue to resonate in the concert hall.
Folk Around the World: Czechia
- ConductorSemyon Bychkov
- OrchestraCzech Philharmonic
- LocationRudolfinum Prague
Trace the soul of Czech music through the voices of Dvořák, Smetana, Martinů, and Janáček - composers who wove the songs, dances, and speech rhythms of their homeland into richly expressive works. Here, rustic dances pulse with life, village melodies blossom into symphonic poetry, and the cadences of everyday language shape entire musical landscapes.
Smetana’s Má vlast is not only a cornerstone of Czech symphonic repertoire, but a vivid embodiment of national identity expressed through music. Across its six tone poems, Smetana draws deeply from the wellspring of Bohemian folk tradition - both explicitly and through stylistic evocation. Dance rhythms, modal inflections, and folk-like melodic contours are woven seamlessly into the fabric of the music, from the rustic, pastoral vitality of the iconic Vltava to the taut rhythmic drive of Šárka. In Tábor and Blaník, Smetana reclaims the Hussite chorale 'Ye Who Are Warriors of God' as a unifying national motif, elevating folk-rooted material to heroic stature.
Rather than direct quotation, many of the folk elements are stylized or reimagined - transformed into musical archetypes that resonate with shared cultural memory. In Má vlast, folk music is not merely colour or reference, but the very voice of the land itself. This masterful 2020 performance from the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov celebrates the 31st anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.
Folk Around the World: Scandinavia
- ConductorEivind Aadland
- OrchestraTasmanian Symphony Orchestra
- LocationFederation Concert Hall Hobart
From the misty forests of Finland to Norway’s rugged fjords and Denmark’s rolling countryside, witness the elemental beauty and folkloric spirit of Scandinavia through the music of Sibelius, Grieg, and Nielsen. Each composer channels the essence of their homeland—its myths, dances, and natural landscapes—into music that feels both intimate and epic.
The Norwegian Dances by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) were originally composed as piano four-hand duets and were orchestrated by Czech violinist Hans Sitt (1850-1922) during Grieg’s lifetime. All four movements (Allegro marcato, Allegretto tranquillo e grazioso, Allegro moderato alla marcia, Allegro molto) are in ternary form with a contrasting middle section, and through a variety of dance rhythms and pastoral melodies they evoke a world both rustic and charming.
Folk Around the World: Hungary
- ConductorSir Simon Rattle
- OrchestraLondon Symphony Orchestra
- LocationBarbican Centre
Rich with fire, rhythm, and raw emotion, this playlist explores the heart of Hungarian musical identity through the works of Bartók, Liszt, Kodály, and Brahms. Drawing on the vibrant traditions of Hungarian and Roma folk music, these composers translate spirited dances, lamenting songs, and improvisatory flair into powerful concert works.
Aside from his brilliant compositional output, Bela Bartók was also a passionate ethnomusicologist, shown particularly through his pioneering field research into folk music. Between 1910 and 1918, he composed the ‘Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs’ derived from a handful of authentic Hungarian folk tunes collected throughout his travels across the country’s rural areas. Initially, the pieces were arranged for solo piano, though nine were re-arranged for symphonic orchestra by the composer in 1933.
In a note on the work’s first publication Bartók notes that ‘the melodies published here are folksongs in the truest sense of the word; more precisely, peasant songs.’ Each is imbued with an age-old rustic pastoralism that speaks to the modest oral tradition of Hungary’s rural population. In this performance from 2018 with Sir Simon Rattle, the London Symphony Orchestra performs two of Bartók’s Hungarian Peasant Songs – the ‘Ballade’ and the ‘Hungarian Peasant Dance’.
Folk Around the World: Poland
- ConductorYuri Temirkanov
- OrchestraRoyal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
- LocationKonserthuset Stockholm
Rooted in dance, devotion, and defiance, withness Poland’s rich musical heritage with works by Chopin, Lutosławski, Weinberg, and Górecki—composers who each drew deeply from the rhythms and spirit of Polish folk traditions. Whether rustic or refined, these influences run like a thread through their music, binding the personal and the national in powerful ways.
Who better to serve as a vessel for one of Frederic Chopin's first-ever Mazurka than the legendary Argentine pianist Martha Argerich? In this 2009 showcase with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Argerich stuns in an effortless rendition of Chopin's second Mazurka.
Composed in 1830 at the tender age of twenty, Mazurka No. 2 sets the tone for the dozens that came after. Inspired by the traditional Polish folk dance of the same name, Chopin composed over fifty Mazurkas throughout his life. Each blends the uplifting liveliness of Polish folk music with Chopin's romantic, often melancholic, style.
Albeit swift, Mazurka No. 2 packs a punch, putting Chopin's ability to convey deep feelings through simplicity, even early on, on full display. The melody switches between flowing, lyrical passages and lively, rousing moments, meshing the spirit of Polish dances with Chopin's unique personal touch. It's a favorite among his many Mazurkas.
