Leos Janácek to Kamila Stösslová

The Lovers
Leos Janácek (1854-1928) was born in Hukvaldy, Moravia, formerly part of the Austrian Empire (now in the Czech Republic). He studied music in Prague, Leipzig, and Vienna. In 1881 he founded the Brno Organ School, which he directed for 40 years. After the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918, he fought hard for the school to be turned into a conservatory financed by the state. Janácek's deep interest in Moravian folk music and speech inflection influenced many of his later operas and much of his instrumental music. His best-known works are the operas Jenufa (1904), Kát'a Kabanová (1921), The Cunning Little Vixen (1924), The Makropoulos Case (1926), and From the House of the Dead (1930). He also wrote song cycles and choral works. In 1881 he married 15 year old Zdenka Schulz. They had two children, both short-lived: Olga (1883-1903) and Vladimir (1890-92). The marriage lasted--if in name only--until Janácek's death in 1928.	Kamila Stösslová (née Neumannová) (1891-1935) was born in Putim near Pisek, Bohemia, of Jewish parents. In May 1912 she married an antiques dealer, David Stössel, and had two sons by him, Rudolph (b. 1913) and Otto (b. 1916). In 1917, while visiting the spa town of Luhacovice with her husband, she met the 63 year old composer Leos Janácek, who fell passionately in love with her. She became the inspiration for some of his greatest music, including the Second String Quartet, and the model for the female leads in three of his operas. Kamila was with Janácek when he died in 1928. Seven years later she died of cancer, at age 43.

The Lovers

Leos Janácek
(1854-1928)
was born in Hukvaldy, Moravia, formerly part of the Austrian Empire (now in the Czech Republic). He studied music in Prague, Leipzig, and Vienna. In 1881 he founded the Brno Organ School, which he directed for 40 years. After the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918, he fought hard for the school to be turned into a conservatory financed by the state. Janácek's deep interest in Moravian folk music and speech inflection influenced many of his later operas and much of his instrumental music. His best-known works are the operas Jenufa (1904), Kát'a Kabanová (1921), The Cunning Little Vixen (1924), The Makropoulos Case (1926), and From the House of the Dead (1930). He also wrote song cycles and choral works. In 1881 he married 15 year old Zdenka Schulz. They had two children, both short-lived: Olga (1883-1903) and Vladimir (1890-92). The marriage lasted--if in name only--until Janácek's death in 1928.

Kamila Stösslová
(née Neumannová)
(1891-1935)
was born in Putim near Pisek, Bohemia, of Jewish parents. In May 1912 she married an antiques dealer, David Stössel, and had two sons by him, Rudolph (b. 1913) and Otto (b. 1916). In 1917, while visiting the spa town of Luhacovice with her husband, she met the 63 year old composer Leos Janácek, who fell passionately in love with her. She became the inspiration for some of his greatest music, including the Second String Quartet, and the model for the female leads in three of his operas. Kamila was with Janácek when he died in 1928. Seven years later she died of cancer, at age 43.

Prague, April 25, 1927

Dear soul!
    Believe me, I cannot escape from our two walks. Like a heavy, beautiful dream; in which I am bewitched.
    I know that I'd be consumed in that heat which cannot catch fire. On the paths I'd plant oaks which would endure for centuries; and into their trunks I'd carve the words which I shouted into the air. I don't want them to be lost, I want them to be known.
    To no-one, ever, have I spoken these words with such compulsion, so recklessly: "You, you Kamila! Look back! Stop!" and I read in your eyes as well that something united us in that gale-force wind and heat of the sun. Perhaps something was fated to give up both unutterable pleasure? Never in my life have I experienced such an intermingling of myself with you. We walked along not even close to one another and yet there was no gap between us. I was just your shadow, for me to be there it needed you. I'd have wished that walk to be without end; I waited without tiring for the words which you whispered; what would I have done were you my wife? Well, I think of you as if you were my wife. It's a small thing just to think like that, and yet it's as if the rays of a hundred suns were overwhelming me. I think this to myself and I won't stop thinking it.
    Do with this letter, this confession of mine, what you will. Burn it, or don't burn it. It brings me alive. Even thoughts become flesh.
Keep well.

Their Story

Text from
Famous Love Letters
Messages of Intimacy and Passion
Edited by Ronald Tamplin