"J.B. Foerster was born in this house on 30 December 1859 in order, through his music, to raise us to the heights of beauty". Although little known today in the wider musical world and even in his own country, Czech composer Josef Bohuslav Foerster was highly revered among his contemporaries.

Foerster was active during the Czech National Revival, when Czech art and culture was undergoing a true renaissance. This collection comprises the composer’s complete solo piano music, which is characterised by fluid, lyrical melodic lines and unusual harmony.

Each of these pieces was written as a dedication, gift or personal commission, showing the importance with which Foerester treated his family and friends. Many of the works contain a certain imagery or derive from a particular back story; one of these is the 1908 work Music for my young son – containing references to the infant Albert’s favourite folk tune – which almost seems to foretell the young boy’s tragic death, aged 16, in 1921.

Among the other works in the collection is Dreaming, perhaps the composer’s most popular piano work.

The pieces are performed by renowned American pianist Patricia Goodson. Having lived in Prague since 1991, Goodson regularly wins praise all over the world for her interpretation of the Czech piano repertoire.