Bohuslav Martinů

Bohuslav Martinů: Martinů was born in the small market town of Polička just on the Bohemian side of the Bohemian-Moravian border.

Until 1902, when they moved to a house in the centre of the town, his family lived at the top of the church tower, where his father combined his cobbler’s trade with fire-watching and ringing bells for services. Martinů started school in 1897 followed by violin lessons twice a week. He developed fast as a violinist, leading the Polička string quartet and in 1905 giving his first performance as a soloist. Another successful recital the next year encouraged high hopes of a career as a virtuoso leading to the key event of his early life: the local community raised funds to send him to the Prague Conservatory, the entrance exam for which he passed in September 1906.