We're conditioned to believe musical genius burns bright and early, like Mozart. Leos Janacek shatters that timeline completely. He didn't achieve true greatness until his sixties and composed his undeniable masterworks in his seventies, fueled by a twelve-year grudge, devastating personal loss, and an obsessive love for a married woman 38 years his junior.

This deep dive explores how a poor, rebellious Moravian schoolteacher forged a radically original modern style by capturing the literal music of human speech. From practicing on a chalk keyboard drawn on his tabletop to recording village singers on an Edison phonograph, Janacek listened to reality more closely than anyone of his era. His story is proof that there's no mandatory timeline for creative brilliance.

• Why he drew a piano keyboard in chalk on his desk and built a pure ...