The Moldau

Free Classical Piano Music

The Moldau by Smetana (Die Moldau)is one of the most beautiful musical themes ever written. This free classical piano music is arranged for intermediate-level students, or highly motivated 2nd or 3rd year students. Pianists need to be able to easily reach an octave with the left hand.

This beautiful music dramatizes the story of a river (called "Vltava" in Bohemia/Czechoslovakia, but "Moldau" in German) from its small beginnings as a stream high in the mountains where little breezes blow, to meanderings past country villages, to splashing waves and rushing torrents which finally empty into the Elbe River.


Download The Moldau for piano
If you are interested in a much longer and fuller arrangement, this beautiful two-page version of The Moldau presents a real challenge.

Berlin Philharmonic Bedøich Smetanas "Die Moldau" aus dem Zyklus "Mein Vaterland", gespielt von den Berliner Philharmonikern:

"In this piece, Smetana uses tone painting to evoke the sounds of one of Bohemia's great rivers. In his own words:

The composition describes the course of the Vltava, starting from the two small springs, the Cold and Warm Vltava, to the unification of both streams into a single current, the course of the Vltava through woods and meadows, through landscapes where a farmer's wedding is celebrated, the round dance of the mermaids in the night's moonshine: on the nearby rocks loom proud castles, palaces and ruins aloft. The Vltava swirls into the St. John's Rapids; then it widens and flows toward Prague, past the Vyšehrad, and then majestically vanishes into the distance, ending at the Labe (or Elbe, in German)." Julius H.Jacobson and Kevin Kline (2002), The classical music experience: discover the music of the world's greatest composers. New York: Sourcebooks, p. 122.






Return to Beginner Piano Music for more free sheet music

Return to Home Page for more free sheet music