Leoš Janáček (3 July 1854 in Hukvaldy – 12 August 1928 in Ostrava) was a Czech composer. He was inspired by the broader field of Slavic folk music, weaving it into some of his greatest compositons: his Sinfonietta, Glagolitic Mass, Taras Bulba, string quartets and operas. Janáček is generally recognised as an inimitable composer, and one of his country's foremost talents. Janáček, the son of a schoolmaster, sang as a boy in the choir of the monastery in Brno.