At the age of 46 Talich had been Chief Conductor of the re-formed Czech Philharmonic Orchestra for just over a decade when he made this recording. The ten original 78s were beautifully pressed, and housed in a most elegant album. It was often the case at this period that HMV's Czech branch produced startlingly good recordings for their day. That cannot quite be said of this first ever version of Ma vlast, for the acoustic is slightly cavernous, detail tends to get a little lost and the quality itself is a shade gritty. Ward Marston has clearly done all he can to produce an acceptable sound without resorting to any computerized 'enhancements'.
At this stage the Czech Philharmonic had not quite reached its zenith. Not all the playing is immaculate, and there are the odd moments of bad ensemble. Nor was Talich yet quite at his peak as a conductor, for as he grew older he seemed to acquire more and more interpretive insight and vitality. And so really the 1954 Supraphon recording with the same orchestra (available on cassette only—Cavendish Cassettes/Harmonia Mundi (Full price) RTD8712, 3/89), much better recorded, of course, but also better played and imbued with an extraordinary, unequalled fervour, is the Talich version of Ma vlast to include in one's collection. Nevertheless, keen collectors of vintage orchestral recordings will also wish to have a version which is hard to track down in its original form and will find much to enjoy here. For only by his higher later standards is the older Talich version lacking. There is plenty of vitality in evidence everywhere. ''Vltava'' flows pleasantly and the drama of ''Tabor'' and ''Blanik'' is particularly well drawn. The disc's presentation is well-organized and attractive and, as ever, it is good to have recordings by Czechoslovakia's greatest conductor in the current catalogue.'