As an American who lived and worked in Prague for many years, I am most impressed by music historian Dr. Daniel E. Freeman's extraordinary work on the life and music of Josef Myslivecek, "The Bohemian." Although not a music scholar or theorist myself, I find Dr. Freeman's portrayal of this prominent Czech composer a most insightful and in-depth depiction of not only the culture from which Myslivecek originated, but also a colorful and fascinating personal examination of the man himself and the influence that he continues to wield upon the study of classical music in general.
Interest in Myslivecek - not only within the Czech Republic, but also throughout the music world in entirety - has recently been growing dramatically, perhaps due not in small part to Dr. Freeman's scholarly and well-researched treatment of the man and his music. This book is not only a discussion of the musical milieu from which Myslivecek emerged and developed, but it also presents extremely significant and groundbreaking proof concerning the composer's friendship with the family of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and the heretofore unacknowledged influence that Myslivecek had on the work of the young Amadeus. This book would be of significant interest to anyone captivated by the topics of Bohemia in the 18th century, of world music history, or of the biography of a greatly influential - though perhaps not yet universally acknowledged - musical genius.