Bohuslav Martinu

Bohuslav Martinu was born on 8th August in 1890 in Polička as the son of cobbler Ferdinand Martinů. He studied the violin for about 6 years, and when he was 15 he began to perform as a soloist at local festivals. His teacher was Adolf Vaníček. Martinů entered the Prague Conservatory on 15thApril 1906. Influenced by Dvořák, Strauss, and Debussy he wrote over 90 pieces by 1912. In 1914 Martinů was appointed the second violinist in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. He spent the First World War in his hometown working as a violin teacher; in 1919 he returned to Prague. Later he became a teacher in the master school of Josef Suk. In early 1920ies Bohuslav Martinů travelled to Paris, where he studied new music techniques and wrote 140 pieces of music. Then he moved to New York because he wanted to avoid the Nazis. In the USA he wrote his famous symphony “From the New World” but also some works that reflected his Czech origin, like “Opening of the Wells” where he used the Czech folk motives. After 1953 he lived in Europe but never returned to his homeland. Martinů died in Liestal, Switzerland on 28thAugust in 1959. His remains were laid to rest in the cemetery in Polička.