One of the greatest and most original composers of the early twentieth century, Leos Janacek (1854-1928) occupied a pre-eminent position in Moravian culture, not only as a composer but also as a folksong collector, journalist, educator and nationalist. His friends and associates included artists, writers, ethnographers and politicians, as well as conductors, singers and instrumentalists. Janacek's many pupils included the conductor Bretislav Bakala and thecomposer Pavel Haas. He had important associations with publishers in Vienna and Prague and with the earliest years of Czech Radio. Janacek was strongly attached to particular places - Hukvaldy, Brno, Luhacovice - and had professional links with Prague, Berlin, London and beyond. The Janacek Compendium includes nearly 300 entries on every aspect of Janacek's life and works, with detailed notes on all his significant compositions - above all the operas - providing the latest information to emerge about some of his most famous pieces. An extensive bibliography supports the entries, which are cross-referenced to enable wider exploration of particular topics.
NIGELSIMEONE is a widely respected writer and lecturer on music, with a lifelong interest in Czech music. His books include Janacek's Works (Oxford University Press, 1997, co-authored with John Tyrrell and Alena Nemcova), TheLeonard Bernstein Letters (Yale University Press, 2013), and Charles Mackerras (Boydell Press, 2015, co-edited with John Tyrrell). He is a regular broadcaster on BBC radio.
Industry Reviews
The Compendium is well written, authoritative, and interesting enough to be read cover-to-cover or in large chunks, though most people will delve into it as fancy dictates. For scholars writing an article or paper on the composer it should be invaluable. . . . [It] is a sturdy hardbound, designed to be opened frequently. Its high quality pages are full of clean print, little white space, and 21 black-and-white pictures. It's a treasure trove of Leos Janacek and Czech music in general. -- Roger Hecht * AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE *
An encyclopedia of its subject...cover[ing] Janacek's works, his colleagues and main interpreters.his family members and further significant others, places important to his life or career, and contemporary organizations that performed his works...the operas themselves are dealt with generously and with a clarity of approach that in each case explains their origins. * OPERA MAGAZINE *
Simeone offers an excellent guide to specific works and other aspects of Janacek's career as a conductor, ethnographer, and teacher. . . . Anglophones will consider this the standard English-language resource for Janacek studies; specialists, however, will also find the German-language online encyclopedia Leos Janacek (www.leos-janacek.org) extremely useful. . . . Highly recommended. * CHOICE *
Omits little or nothing that even the most demanding seeker for information and opinion about Janacek could expect to find. * GRAMOPHONE *
This Compendium represents a book that has been conspicuously absent from the Janacek literature. It is quick and straightforward to find all of the important information on Janacek's life and works, including key personalities and editions. Everything essential is here, supported by an admirably thorough and up-to-date bibliography. As always, Nigel Simeone's work is of the highest quality, and this publication is a must for all musicologists, opera lovers and admirers of Janacek's extraordinary music. Dr Jiri Zahradka, Curator of the Janacek Archive, Brno, * Czech Republic *
