Leoš Janáček Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ludwig van beethoven Sinfonietta (Symfonietta) bedřich smetana A Blown Away Leaf (Andante) Antonín dvořák gustav mahler Art Deco Imperial Hotel leoš janáček bohuslav martinů Dům čp. 564 v Žitné ulici - U Bílého lva A Blown Away Leaf (Andante) Music Leoš Janáček Artist Radoslav Kvapil Sinfonietta (Symfonietta) Music Leoš Janáček Artist Czech Philharmonic/Karel Ančerl Dům čp. 3 na Karlově nám. Leoš Janáček One of the most respected Czech composers, composer of several operas, of which Její pastorkyňa (Her Stepdaughter, commonly known as Jenufa) has become world famous. Conductor, organist and composer, inspired by Moravian folk songs whose themes are reflected in his work. 3 July 1854 in Hukvaldy (Czech Republic) 12 August 1928 in Ostrava, buried in Brno (Czech Republic) Leoš Janáček was born into the family of a schoolmaster and organist. Even as a child Leoš played the organ and sang in the local Church of St. Maximilian. He received his basic musical training under Pavel Křížkovský in Brno. In 1874, Janáček moved to Prague, where he continued his organ studies under František Zdeněk Skuherský until 1876, when he transferred to the conservatories in Vienna and Leipzig. Between 1873 and 1876, Janáček was the choirmaster for the Svatopluk Artisan’s Association. The experience he gained during those three years proved to be of value to him when the assumed the position of choirmaster for the Brno Social Club (which later became the Brno Philharmonic Choir). In 1881, Leoš Janáček was one of the co-founders of an organ school in Brno and remained its director until 1919. Between 1886 and 1902 he was also a singing teacher at the Second Czech Grammar School. Janáček was active not only in the field of music. He was also an active contributor to the Moravian Folia. He did not, however, enjoy the same level of success in his private life. In 1881 he married the very young Zdeňka Schulzová – she was not even sixteen at the time. Although they remained married until Janáček’s death in 1928, their life together was not a very happy one. The true love of Janáček’s life was Kamila Stösslová, who was the composer’s inspiration for Katya Kabanová and The Diary of One Who Disappeared. Works: However, Janáček is most well-known for his operas, such as Jenůfa based on a story by Gabriela Preissová, The Excursions of Mr. Brouček inspired by the book of the same name by Svatopluk Čech, and The Makropulos Case. His opera The Cunning Little Vixen, a melancholy tale popular with children, was based on an early comic strip published in the daily Lidové noviny (The People's Newspaper), which used the sketches of Stanislav Lolek and text by Rudolf Těsnohlídek shortly before the latter's suicide. Janáček was also a devoted Christian. Among his most important works are Ave Maria Our Father, Exaudi Deus, and his very famous Glagolithic Mass, which was based on the Old Slavonic liturgical mass and dedicated to the Archbishop of Olomouc. Janáček’s most important symphonic works include Sinfonietta and Taras Bulba. Many of Janáček’s compositions are based on Moravian folklore – an area in which he was considered to be an expert. He was also often inspired by nature, as is obvious in his Lachian Dances, Jenůfa, and The Cunning Little Vixen. The composer had his own personal melody notation method that he used to record not only the sounds and rhythms found in nature.¨ House No. 3 at Charles Square Leoš Janáček's stay in this house is memorialized by a bronze plaque with a bust and inscription "In memory of the composer and teacher Leoš Janáček, 1854-1928." White Lion House Antonín Dvořák lived and worked in this house from 1877 until his death in 1904. Among his guests were prominent musicians such as P.I. Tchaikovsky, J. Brahms, E. Grieg. Leoš Janáček spent some time at Dvořák's place as well. Art Deco Imperial Hotel Leoš Janáček stayed at this hotel during his Prague visit in the 1920's. Karlovo nám. 3 Žitná 564/14 Na Poříčí 1072/15