Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Most of the 47 essays collected and felicitously translated in this volume were written by the noted Czech composer for Moravian journals, magazines and newspapers between 1886 and 1928. They cover many topics--Janacek's attitudes toward music, his compositional methods, sources of inspiration, opera reviews, reminiscences of other composers, travels. Eccentric celebrations of an idiosyncratic artistic vision, these sketches, many of which are accompanied by musical examples that show how he rendered speech in his music, are permeated with impressionistic images and demonstrations of Janacek's theory that speech is akin to melody. Explanatory notes preceding each piece explain the numerous references to people, places and events unfamiliar to an English-speaking audience and, together with the biographical sketch that introduces the book, provide an outline of the composer's life from his birth in 1854 to his death in 1928. Photos not seen by PW. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

CHOICE Review

This excellent compilation and translation of Janacek's writings is of major importance because so few are available in other than Czech or German. Janacek's reputation as a composer is only slightly behind that of his older compatriot Dvorak. The feuilletons, essays, articles, and reminiscences contained in this volume give us a better grasp of this Moravian composer whose operas and orchestral and chamber music became so popular during the opening decades of this century. Janacek's prose has considerable imagination and fervor, like his music. The trenchant motives, propulsive rhythms, and surprising modulations of his compositions are matched by the passion, metaphoric expressions, and abrupt twists of thought in his writings. The book opens with a short biography, followed by the writings grouped into four major divisions: "Speech Melody and Czech Nationalism"; "What I Admit" (writings on the creative process, musical talent, and many of the composer's compositions); "Performances and Composers" (reviews mostly of concerts in Brno during the 1880s-1890s); and "Travel and Places." Each division is preceded by a brief, synoptic essay. The book is amply illustrated with short musical examples (many demonstrating Janacek's distinctive manner of turning ordinary speech into music) and some photographs, caricatures, and letters. A name glossary, name and subject index, and a composition index conclude this very useful book. It is sure to become widely used and is recommended for all libraries. -W. K. Kearns, University of Colorado at Boulder

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Leos Janacek was born in Moravia, part of the Czech Republic. At the age of 10, he was placed at the Augustine monastery in Brno as a chorister. For two years (1872--74), he was a student at Brno Teachers Training College and at the Organ School in Prague, where he studied organ with Skuhersky. He later took lessons in composition with L. Grill at the Leipzig Conservatory. From 1879 to 1880, Janacek studied with Franz Krenn at the Vienna Conservatory. A year later, he returned to Brno, where he conducted the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Between 1919 and 1925, Janacek taught at the Conservatory of Brno. Many Czech composers of younger generations were his students.

Janacek began composing music early in his life in many genres, including choral works, orchestral music, chamber music, and piano music. However, it was not until the 1916 production of his opera Jeji Pastorkyna (Her Foster Daughter), known more widely as Jenufa, that his importance as a composer was realized in the music world. Many of Janacek's operas were based on important Russian literary works. Kat'a Kabanova (1921) and From the House of the Dead (1938) are two such operas. Janacek also believed in the artistic importance of folk songs. He collected a number of folk songs in his native Moravia.

Janacek is considered the most important modern Czech composer. In addition to Jenufa, his works include the symphonic poem Taras Bulba (1918) and the Glagolitic Mass (1926), a Latin text translated into Czech. During the last two decades of his life, Janacek was highly influenced by French impressionistic music.

(Bowker Author Biography)