Bohuslav Martinů is one of the most played Czech authors. The work of one of the most prolific and versatile composers of the 20th century reflects a number of influences: French impressionism, jazz, English madrigals and Czech and Moravian folk songs.
According to Bohuslav Martinů himself, the character of his music was influenced by the unusual place of his birth. He was born in Polička, in a small cell in the tower of the church of St. Jacob; father Ferdinand was employed as a porter and at the same time devoted himself to the shoemaker's trade. He lived here with his parents and siblings until he was twelve, before the family moved to a house on the square. He played the violin from an early age, studied violin and organ at the conservatory in Prague, and taught violin in his hometown during the First World War.
After the war, Bohuslav Martinů worked for three seasons as a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic and in 1923 he went to Paris to study composition with Albert Roussel. A year later he moved permanently to France. There he also met Charlotte Quennehen, whom he married in the early 1930s. Until 1940, Martinů lived in Paris as a freelance composer, the couple usually spent the summer months in Polička. In the 1930s, he built a reputation as a renowned composer, his music being played by orchestras around the world.
After the occupation of Paris by the Nazis, Martinů and his wife fled through southern France, Spain and Portugal to the USA. In America, he began composing symphonies and also devoted himself to teaching: he taught at the Berkshire Music School, then at schools in New Jersey and New York. The communist coup in February 1948 prevented him from returning to Czechoslovakia.
