Just coming up to the end of this hefty and intoxicatingly involving volume, and as with all the best biographies it will feel as if taking leave of a close friend - such a detailed, absorbing portrait of Janacek and his times does Tyrrell create. The central paradox of his life is brilliantly evoked: how almost of all of his asonishing music arose out of a fairly bizzare half-fantasy infatuation with a not particularly interesting married lady who spent much of her time ignoring both the composer and his music.The creative process is indeed a strange and wonderful thing.If you do intend to read this biography, however, just one piece of advice - make sure you have all Janacek's recorded works immediately at hand, since you will certainly not want to be without any of them as Tyrrell takes you fascinatingly and often wittily through their inception, composition and premiere. So, a magnificent achievement, recommended not just to people with an interest in Janacek, but in music, creativity, and, well, life itself.
