From an early age, Janác̆ek believed that music should follow the natural rhythms of human speech, animals, and birds. He went on to produce works…that are romantic, delight in the natural, and have an ‘angular’ and even ascetic quality and a rhythmic vitality, all at the same time.

Czech composer Leoš Janáček, born this day in 1854, was a leading exponent of musical nationalism during the 20th century, and he developed a style that was intimately connected with the inflections of the Czech language.