Bohuslav Martinů

Bohuslav Martinů was born on December 8, 1890, in the high bell tower of Saint James Church in Polička where his father served as bell-ringer and watchman. Playing second violin in the Czech Philharmonic, Martinů moved to Paris in 1923 to study with Albert Roussel.

Escaping the Nazi invasion of France in 1940, he lived in the United States, composing six acclaimed symphonies and concertos for the Boston Symphony. His dramatic works, notably the opera The Greek Passion and the cantata The Opening of the Springs, reflect deep emotional longing for his native Moravian soil.