Born in the Austro–Hungarian Empire, Rudolf Leberl is one of the most undeservedly neglected of Bohemian composers. He wrote extensively for the guitar, drawing on a rich variety of influences–German Romanticism, folk music, nineteenth–century guitar traditions, and a love of poetry–to forge his own highly individual voice. His cycles are musical kaleidoscopes and include rustic dances, baroque evocations, Spanish elements and beautiful romances. The wide–ranging and highly characteristic 12 Stimmungsbilder (Mood Pictures) include some of his most engaging and virtuosic writing.