Great
Classical Music
Composers

Leos Janacek

3 July 1854 - 10 August 1928 (age 74

Portrait by Paul Helm
click on image for more info

Janacek is one of the important Czech composers, his main work being 9 operas. The bulk of his best creative work was composed in the last 15 years of his life.

Family

Works

Links

Family

Nationality: Czech
Born: Leo Eugen Janáček, 3 July 1854, Hukvaldy, Moravia
Father: Jiří Janáček, schoolmaster and church organist
Mother: Amalie Janáček (neé Grulichová)
Siblings: one of 14 children
Wife: Zdenka Schulzová, his 15 year old pupil
Children: daughter Olga, died aged 20
son: Vladimir, died in infancy
Muse: Kamila Stösslová.
Died: 10 August 1928, Ostava, Czechoslovakia
Cause: Pneumonia
Grave: Central Cemetery, Brno, Czech Republic.

Best known works

Operas (9) including:

Sarka

Jenufa

The Cunning Little Vixen

The Makropoulos Affair

Katya Kabanova
Orchestral
Taras Bulba
Sinfonietta
Violin Concerto
Choral & Instumental
Glagolitic Mass
Cantatas, choral, sacred and folk pieces
Piano music

The majority and the best of his creative output was in the last 15 years of his long life. This is attributed to three main causes:
- In 1916 the Prague production of his opera Jenufa brought him fame not only in his country but also internationally.
- In 1918 Czechoslovakia was founded and Janacek became a national hero and celebrity.
- In 1917, when he was 63 he became infatuated with Kamila Stösslová, a young married woman half his age. They exchanged a vast quantity of correspondence. She is credited with being his major inspiration until his death.

Sinfonietta - First movement

Janacek on eBay

You will find lots of Janacek related goods on eBay, some new, some used, some common, some rare. Always good for a browse - you never know what you may find!

Leos's facebook

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Links - Where to go for more information

- By far the best web resource about Janacek and his works by UK writer and organist Gavin Plumley
www.leosjanacek.co.uk/

Two good articles about the women in his life and their influence on his work:
An article by Norman Lebrecht
A Guardian article on Kamila as his muse

Answers.com
www.answers.com/topic/leos-janacek

The Janacek Society
www.leos-janacek.org