A presentation in words and music of the life of Leos Janacek , drawn from his own writings and the memoirs of Mara, his housekeeper.
Compiled and written by PATRICK LAMBERT and In a remarkable series of letters spanning the last 12 years of his life, the Czech composer Leos Janacek poured out his innermost thoughts to Kamila Stosslova, a married woman less than half his age. The intensity of his love for her inspired in him an astonishing outburst of creative energy which found its final expression in his Second String Quartet (subtitled Intimate Letters). The programme ends with a performance of this quartet, played by the MEDICI STRING QUARTET. Producers IAN COTTERELL and PATRICK LAMBERT
(First broadcast on Radio 4)