From My Life."  
In 1874, this composer became totally deaf, possibly as a result of having contracted syphilis, and this is referred to in his 1st String Quartet "From My Life."  However, many of his best works were written in the years leading up to his death in an asylum in 1884, including cycle of symphonic poems containing such pieces as Tabor, Visehrad, and The Moldau, collectively known as Ma Vlast or My Fatherland.  For ten points, name this first important Bohemian nationalist composer, best known for his opera The Bartered Bride
In 1874, this composer became totally deaf, possibly as a result of having contracted syphilis, and this is referred to in his 1st String Quartet "
Bedrich Smetana