Czech Composer Leos Janacek
Conductor, Teacher, Late-Bloomer Natural Successor to Smetana
Leo Janácek's biography - his life and works. He was recognized and became famous after the performance of his opera 'Jenufa' in Prague.
Leos Janácek was a Czech composer, conductor, teacher and musical administrator. His successes came very late. A late-bloomer, he became famous after his opera Jenufa was performed in Prague; he was past 50 years old. His operas Osud and Mr. Broucek's Excursion to the Moon were also written that time; his best known Sinfonietta for orchestra, dedicated to the Czech Armed Forces, was written when he was over 70 years old.
Early Years
Born on July 3, 1854 in Hukvaldy, Moravia (now Czech Republic), Janácek was the ninth of fourteen children. His father was a village schoolmaster. He attended a monastery school in Brno and at 14 entered the Imperial and Royal Teachers' Training Institute on a state scholarship, where he stayed for three years.
Training, Marriage, Teaching Career
Janácek studied at the Leipzig Conservatory where he developed interest in composition under the strict supervision of Leo Grill. He also studied in Vienna. He returned to Brno and became engaged to one of his pupils, 15-year old Zdenka Schulzova whom he married. At the same time, he also founded an organ school. In 1919, he became director of the Conservatoire at Brno and professor at the Prague Conservatoire the following year.
Janácek's Works (excepting operas)
- Folk songs arrangements
- Suite for strings
- Symphonic poem
- Violin sonata
- Ballet
- Orchestral Rhapsody for Orchestra Taras Bulba, 1918
- Orchestral Sinfonietta, 1926
- Choral Msa Glagolskja (Glagolitic Mass), 1926
- String Quartet No.2, ‘Intimate Letters’
The later compositions, in particular, Katya Kabanova based on the play Goza (The Storm), 1921, and String Quartet No.2, ‘Intimate Letters’, were inspired by his unrequited love for Kamila Stosslova, 38 years his junior.
Janácek's music is highly influenced by Moravian folk music. He worked in different musical styles: from established romantic techniques to dissonant combinations, and influences: from western European music to Czech and Moravian folk songs.
Janácek's reputation outside Czechoslovakia and German-speaking countries was first made as an instrumental composer. He has since been regarded not only as a Czech composer worthy to be ranked with Smetana and Dvorak, but also as one of the most original and influential opera composers of the 20th-century.
Leo Jánacek's Operas
- Jenufa, began 1896 and staged in Brno in 1904
- Osud (Fate) 1904
- Mr. Broucek's Excursion to the Moon, satirical opera, 1920
- Katya Kabanova based on the play Goza (The Storm), 1921,
- The Cunning Little Vixen (Prihody lisky bystriusky), 1923
- The Makropoulos Affair, 1926
- From the House of the Dead, 1927
Recommended Work
Sinfonietta
Sources:
Classical Music Instant Reference (2000)
Classical Music by John Stanley, Mitchell Beasley (1994)
The Hamlyn Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, edited by A. Isaacs and E. Martin (1990)
