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Leoš Janáček

Leoš Janáček

Born: 3rd July 1854, Hukvaldy, Czechia

Died: 12th August 1928, Ostravia, Czechia

Nationality: Czech

Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, music theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic music, including Eastern European folk music, to create an original, modern musical style.

Born in Hukvaldy, Janáček demonstrated musical talent at an early age and was educated in Brno, Prague, Leipzig, and Vienna. He then returned to live in Brno, where he married his pupil Zdenka Schulzová and devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research. His earlier musical output was influenced by contemporaries such as Antonín Dvořák, but around the turn of the century he began to incorporate his earlier studies of national folk music, as well as his transcriptions of "speech melodies" of spoken language, to create a modern, highly original synthesis.

Further Reading: Janáček

  • Simon Rattle conducts Janáček's Jenůfa

    2nd May 2025by James Longstaffe

    Continuing their survey of Janáček's operas, Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra bring out the tenderness present throughout much of the score, alongside exceptional performances by Agneta Eichenholz, Nicky Spence, Aleš Briscein, and Katarina Karnéus.

  • Kateřina Kněžíková on Strauss and Janáček

    7th Oct 2024by Katherine Cooper

    The Czech soprano discusses her new recording of the 'Vier letzte Lieder' with her friend Jakub Hrůša, and reflects on her recent transition into more dramatic repertoire - beginning with Káťa Kabanová at Glyndebourne in 2021.

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