Leos(Leoš) Janacek(Janáček)

Born: 1854
Died: 1928
Education: Janáček demonstrated musical talent at an early age and was educated in Brno, Prague, Leipzig, and Vienna.
Career: success of a revised edition of Jenůfa at the National Theatre in 1916

Although in terms of age Leoš Janáček is more part of Antonín Dvořák's generation, his music is some of the most expressive to be found in the 20th century, placing this composer among musicians two generations his junior. Janáček's life and work are closely connected with Brno, where he lived from childhood and where his tireless work as a composer and organiser contributed greatly to the development of Brno's cultural life. Leoš Janáček was born on 3 July 1854 in Hukvaldy, the ninth of fourteen children, to the Hukvaldy teacher Jiří Janáček and his wife Amálie, née Grulichová. When recalling his childhood he mentioned the school in Hukvaldy, his father's beehives, the Babí hora hill and the church gallery where he sang at ceremonial masses. He was an average pupil at school, but showed uncommon musical ability. His father's worsening health and a shortage of money led the parents to seek an education for their son using a scholarship for musically gifted boys from poor families in Kroměříž or in Brno. Janáček's father became friends with the composer and director of the Brno foundation, Pavel Křížkovský, so they opted for the Augustinian Monastery in Old Brno. The eleven-year-old Leoš left for Brno in August 1865, bringing his childhood to a sudden end.