Leoš Janáček
Born: 3rd July 1854, Hukvaldy, Czechia
Died: 12th August 1928, Ostravia, Czechia
Nationality: Czech
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, music theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic music, including Eastern European folk music, to create an original, modern musical style.
Born in Hukvaldy, Janáček demonstrated musical talent at an early age and was educated in Brno, Prague, Leipzig, and Vienna. He then returned to live in Brno, where he married his pupil Zdenka Schulzová and devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research. His earlier musical output was influenced by contemporaries such as Antonín Dvořák, but around the turn of the century he began to incorporate his earlier studies of national folk music, as well as his transcriptions of "speech melodies" of spoken language, to create a modern, highly original synthesis.
Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leoš_Janáček
Browse: Janáček
Further Reading: Janáček
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Simon Rattle conducts Janáček's Jenůfa
2nd May 2025
Continuing their survey of Janáček's operas, Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra bring out the tenderness present throughout much of the score, alongside exceptional performances by Agneta Eichenholz, Nicky Spence, Aleš Briscein, and Katarina Karnéus.
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Kateřina Kněžíková on Strauss and Janáček
7th Oct 2024
The Czech soprano discusses her new recording of the 'Vier letzte Lieder' with her friend Jakub Hrůša, and reflects on her recent transition into more dramatic repertoire - beginning with Káťa Kabanová at Glyndebourne in 2021.
Popular Genres: Janáček
Popular Works: Janáček
- A Recollection, JWVIII/32 (9)
- Along an Overgrown Path, JW VIII/17, Book 1 (11)
- Ave Maria (Byron, translated by Josef Jurdík) for male voices (7)
- Capriccio for piano (left hand) & chamber ensemble, JW VII/12 'Vzdor' (25)
- Concertino, JW VII/11 (39)
- Dumka for violin and piano (8)
- From the House of the Dead (8)
- Glagolitic Mass (44)
- Idyll for String Orchestra (10)
- In the Mists (79)
- Intimate Sketches (7)
- Jealousy (original prelude to Jenufa) (16)
- Jenufa (21)
- Káta Kabanová (8)
- Lachian Dances (22)
- Mládí (Youth), for wind sextet (32)
- Moravian Dances (3), JW VIII/12 & 18 (7)
- Moravska lidova poezie v pisnich (Moravian Folk Poetry) JW V/2 (10)
- On An Overgrown Path (40)
- Otcenáš (Our Father) for four-part choir, tenor soloist, organ and harp (15)
- Piano Sonata 1.X.1905 in E flat minor, JW VIII/19 'From the Street' (81)
- Pochod Modràcku (7)
- Pohádka (Fairy Tale) for Cello and Piano (64)
- Presto for Cello & Piano (12)
- Reminiscence, JW 8/32 (16)
- Rikadla (Nonsense Nursery Rhymes) (12)
- Sinfonietta (79)
- String Quartet No. 1 'The Kreutzer Sonata' (76)
- String Quartet No. 2 'Intimate Letters' (76)
- Suite for string orchestra, JW 6/2 (20)
- Taras Bulba (53)
- Tema con variazioni (Zdenka's Variations) (15)
- The Ballad of Blaník (7)
- The Cunning Little Vixen (18)
- The Cunning Little Vixen - Suite (13)
- The Diary of One Who Disappeared (12)
- The Fiddler's Child (11)
- The Makropulos Case (8)
- Violin Concerto 'Pilgrimage of the Soul' (7)
- Violin Sonata (109)
Recent Best Sellers: Janáček
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Janáček: The Diary of One Who Disappeared | & other works
Nicky Spence (tenor), Julius Drake (piano), Václava Housková (mezzo), VOICE, Victoria Samek (clarinet)
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Presto Editor's Choice, June 2019
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Record Review, 6th July 2019
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Gramophone Magazine, August 2019, Recording of the Month
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2019
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Limelight Magazine Recordings of the Year, 2019, Nominated - Vocal
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Gramophone Magazine, December 2019, Critics' Choice
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2020, Winner - Vocal
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2020
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Gramophone Awards, 2020, Winner - Solo Vocal
CD: $17.75Download from $8.25 -
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Special offer. Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen, Sinfonietta
Lucy Crowe (Vixen), Gerald Finley (Forester), Sophia Burgos (Fox), Jan Martiník (Badger/Parson), Peter Hoare (Mosquito/Rooster/Schoolmaster), Hanno Müller-Brachmann (Harašta) London Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus, Sir Simon Rattle
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Presto Recording of the Week, 4th September 2020
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Gramophone Magazine, October 2020, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2020
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2020
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The Times Records of the Year, 2020
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Grammy Awards, 64th Awards (2022), Nominee - Best Opera Recording
2 SACDs: Original price $19.75 Reduced $13.82Download from $16.50 -
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Coming soon. Janáček: The Excursions of Mr Brouček
London Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle
2 SACDs: Original price $25.00 Reduced $23.00Download from $20.00 -
Special offer. Janáček: Katya Kabanova
Amanda Majeski (Katya), Katarina Dalayman (Kabanicha), Simon O'Neill (Boris), Andrew Staples (Tichon), Magdalena Kozená (Varvara), Ladislav Elgr (Kudrjas), Pavlo Hunka (Dikój) London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Sir Simon Rattle
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Presto Recording of the Week, 23rd February 2024
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Gramophone Magazine, March 2024, Recording of the Month
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Gramophone Awards, 2024 Shortlist, Shortlisted - Opera
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalists 2024
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International Classical Music Awards, 2025, Nominated - Opera
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Gramophone Magazine, Critics' Choice 2024
2 SACDs: Original price $22.00 Reduced $14.30Download from $20.00 -
New Releases: Janáček
View all new releases-
New. The Secret Letter
Cantus
CD: $17.50Download from $10.00 -
New. The Elastic Heart of Youth
Bruce Levingston (piano)
CD: Original price $19.00 Reduced $15.77Download from $10.00 -
New. Janáček: String Quartets Nos. 1 'The Kreutzer Sonata' & 2 'Intimate Letters'
Andrew Shulman (cello), Ian Brown (piano), Peter Manning (violin), Britten Quartet
Download from $8.00 -
New. Janáček: Zápisník zmizelého-The Diary of One Who Disappeared
Tomasz Sośniak, Petr Nekoranec, Monika Jägerová, Bartosz Michałowski, Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra, Poznań Chamber Choir, Łukasz Borowicz
Download from $10.00
Future Releases: Janáček
View all future releases-
Coming soon. the earth trembled
Signum Quartett
CD: $19.00Download from $10.25 -
Coming soon. Janáček: The Excursions of Mr Brouček
London Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle
2 SACDs: Original price $25.00 Reduced $23.00Download from $20.00 -
Coming soon. Klaus Tennstedt Live, Vol. 8
Bruno Leonardo Gelber (piano), NDR Sinfonieorchester, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Klaus Tennstedt
Download from $20.00 -
Coming soon. DNA
Anouchka Hack, Katharina Hack
Download from $9.50
