The Moldau

The second of the six symphonic poems from Smetana's masterwork Ma vlast describes the course of the Moldau River from its beginnings as two springs to its ends as a majestic and mighty river. The piece begins with a gentle, singing melody in the upper strings while the lower strings use pizzicato to sound like a babbling brook. Harmonic shifts and rhythmic changes ebb and flow until the original theme returns to conclude this stunningly beautiful work.