Janáček brought culture to Brno
A number of eminent institutions in Brno are named after him: Janáček Filharmonie Brno, Janáček Academy of Performing Arts or the Janáček Theatre. In front of the theatre there is a lifesize statute of the composer, and the house he lived in contains the Leoš Janáček Memorial, including his original study and piano.
Leoš Janáček came from a very poor background. He was born into a teacher’s family, and so his parents decided that their musically gifted son would go to the poor children's school at the Augustinian monastery in Staré Brno. The monastery not only gave Janáček a good grounding in music, but also enabled him to complete a general education, including the chance to study at the organ school in Prague and the conservatories in Leipzig and Vienna.
Operas performed in New York
He also worked as a conductor and soon began to compose his own works. In 1894 Janáček was the very first composer to decide to write an opera based on a literary text, the theatre play Její pastorkyňa (Her Stepdaughter).
It was his opera Její Pastorkyňa that set Janáček on the journey to becoming a world famous composer. Soon after it premièred in Prague it was translated into German; in 1918 it was performed at the Vienna State Opera under the name Jenůfa, and then at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. After his huge success in Antwerp, the Belgian King Albert awarded Janáček a knighthood.
Relaxing at Luhačovice spa
Leoš Janáček regularly used to go to the spa town of Luhačovice, where he stayed in a villa, the first spa building built by the famous architect Dušan Jurkovič.
Janáček died suddenly of pneumonia in the middle of his work. Born in Hukvald, he was 74 when he died. He is buried in Brno’s Central Cemetery.
Janáček’s legacy in Brno is still very much alive. Every year the city hosts the international opera and music festival Janáček Brno. Featuring stars from around the world, this year it will be held from 1 to 24 November.
