The oboist ushers me into an elaborately decorated Jugendstil room, where I sit surrounded by musicians marking up scores, packing and unpacking instruments, snatching cups of coffee. Occasionally doors open to reveal glittering salons beyond. Belohlavek presides over this rigorous yet enthusiastic world like a benevolent deity. He talks about Czech music, in a lilting mixture of English and German, with warm-hearted eloquence. It's music that's frank, open.
Bohemian music is always very natural.
You feel it at the bottom of your belly. He clutches his stomach and laughs. The composers are giving themselves from their full hearts. You can't always analyse it. It's not just the composer's skill.