I was very much impressed by the clarity of expression and romantic beauty of Jean Sibelius' 1893 The Swan of Tuonela as performed by the Gothenburg Symphony under Neeme Järvi and as featured on France Musique's Venez quand vous voulez the other day (it starts approx. 90' into the podcast).
Presenter Denisa Kerschova described it as something "between Wagner and Smetana" (if my French serves well enough). I can certainly hear a kinship to Wagner: the whole atmosphere, the dynamism of the orchestra, etc. (The piece reminds me even stronger of Gottfried Huppertz score for Fritz Lang's 1924 Die Nibelungen, so there you have another link to Wagner.)
But then I am not familiar enough with Smetana to judge on that side. Is it likely that Kerschova just wanted to point out that both Sibelius and (her Czech compatriot) Smetana were important catalysts for national movements in their two home countries in the 19th century, or is there a deeper links in terms of art and music? And if so, where would I have to start with Smetana's work to find something of similar quality?