Bohuslav Martinů was born on 8th December, 1890, in the apartment located at the top of the St. James’ Church tower. He lived there with his parents and two siblings for eleven years. This unusual accommodation was provided for the watchman (a job entrusted to Ferdinand Martinů, father of the composer) whose responsibility was to look out for fires within the town and raise the alarm if one was sighted. The tower became Bohuslav’s whole world, as he was a sickly child and did not descend from its heights often. When his father gained new employment, the family moved to town.
Since commencing his formal education, young Bohuš has also started attending violin lessons, which provided a platform for his musical talent to flourish. After several successful performances in Polička and its surrounding areas, the family succeeded in securing a bursary through the town which enabled Bohuš to study at the Prague Conservatoire. Leaving the small town revealed a hitherto unimagined world of cultural events; it seemed there was never a day on which Bohuslav would not attend a concert or a theatre performance. His perfect attendance at these events negatively impacted his studies, eventually leading to his expulsion; however, the thought of becoming a composer grew stronger and more compelling than that of becoming a violinist. Through his own efforts he became one of the most distinctive composers of the 20th century.
In 1918, the independent Czechoslovakia was born, bringing new opportunities. Bohuslav was invited to tour various European countries with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra as a member of the violin section. His travels cemented a decision to apply for a scholarship, and in the autumn of 1923 Bohuslav can be found in Paris – a city that enthralled him with its avant-garde atmosphere and cultural possibilities. Here, he created many friendships and met his wife, Charlotte. Over time, he collaborated with well-known personalities in the music world and his compositions were performed in France, as well as in Czechoslovakia, where he regularly visited his family and friends.
The three months originally planned for his scholarship grew into seventeen years and had it not been for the outbreak of the Second World War, Bohuslav would have probably stayed longer. As he disobeyed the call to return to Czechoslovakia, which was occupied by the armies of Nazi Germany, he was placed on the notional “black list” of undesirable persons. As soon as France fell, he knew he was not safe anymore and, with his wife, decided to emigrate to the USA, where he lived through the war years as well as a few years that followed. In America, Martinů built a reputation for himself as one of the most significant European composers. Despite all the success, Martinů did not find himself entirely compatible with the American environment and, in the post-war years, travelled to Europe with increasing frequency. Eventually, in 1953, he decided to leave the USA. He couldn’t return to Czechoslovakia as the country, after the political coup, adopted the communist ideology. He spent his remaining years in France, Italy and Switzerland (Schönenberg). His homesickness crystalised in a composition of four cantatas based on the poems written by Miroslav Bureš, who was also born in Polička. The first, The Opening of the Wells, became a symbol of his relationship to the native Highlands.
Bohuslav Martinů died 28th August, 1959, in Switzerland’s Liestal. He was buried in the private grounds belonging to the conductor Paul Sacher in Schönenberg; however, in 1979, with Sacher family’s permission, his remains were transported to Polička and he was laid to rest in the family tomb alongside his parents, siblings and his wife.