Wenzel Johann Tomaschek (1774-1850) was born into a provincial merchant family in Bohemia, and through his musical skill and determination became one of the leading figures in Czech music in the first half of the 19th century. Tomaschek rose to recognition with his many connections to contemporary musicians both in Prague and Vienna, his keen critical eye and ear, and his sometimes cutting opinions of such figures as Steibelt and Wolfl. He developed a close personal relationship with Goethe, for whose poems he composed dozens of settings for solo voice with piano. He also reported in detail...