Vítezslava Kaprálová
Encyclopedia
Vítězslava Kaprálová was a Czech
composer
and conductor
. Among her teachers were some of the best European composers and conductors of the time - Bohuslav Martinů
, Václav Talich
, and Charles Münch
.
. In 1930-1935 Kaprálová studied composition with Vilém Petrželka
and conducting with Zdeněk Chalabala
at the Brno Conservatory
. She continued her musical education with Vítězslav Novák
and Václav Talich
in Prague
(1935–1937) and with Bohuslav Martinů
, Charles Münch
, and Nadia Boulanger
in Paris
(1937–1940). In 1937 she conducted Czech Philharmonic and a year later the BBC Orchestra in her composition Military Sinfonietta
, to much critical acclaim. Her husband was the Czech writer Jiří Mucha
.
Despite her untimely death in 1940, Kaprálová created an impressive body of work. There is no doubt that had she lived she would have become one of the greatest women composers in Europe. Her music was greatly admired by Rafael Kubelík
who premiered her orchestral song Waving Farewell and also performed several of her other works. Among the many interpreters of her piano music
was also the esteemed Rudolf Firkušný
for whom Kaprálová composed her best known piano work April Preludes. In 1946, in appreciation of her distinctive contribution, the foremost academic institution in the country - The Czech Academy of Sciences and the Arts - awarded Kaprálová membership in memoriam. By 1948 this honour was bestowed on only 10 women, out of 648 members of the Academy. Only one of the ten women was a musician - Kaprálová.
Kaprálová's creative output includes her highly regarded art songs and music for piano solo, a string quartet
, music for cello, music for violin and piano, a cantata
, two piano concertos, one orchestral suite, a sinfonietta
, and a concertino
for clarinet, violin, and orchestra. Much of her music was published during her lifetime and continues to be published today (some compositions in subsequent editions) by various publishing houses, including the distinguished Bärenreiter Verlag. In addition, her music has been released on record and compact disc by a variety of labels, including Koch Records
and Supraphon
.
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
. Among her teachers were some of the best European composers and conductors of the time - Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Martinu
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
, Václav Talich
Václav Talich
Václav Talich was a Czech conductor, violinist and pedagogue.- Life :Born in Kroměříž, Moravia, he started his musical career in a student orchestra in Klatovy. From 1897 to 1903 he studied at the conservatory in Prague with Otakar Ševčík...
, and Charles Münch
Charles Münch
Charles Munch was an Alsatian symphonic conductor and violinist. Noted for his mastery of the French orchestral repertoire, he is best known as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.-Biography:...
.
Life
She was a daughter of composer Václav KaprálVáclav Kaprál
Václav Kaprál was a Czech pianist and composer.Kaprál studied composition with Leoš Janáček in the Brno Organ School and with Vítězslav Novák in Prague. Later, he studied piano interpretation with Alfred Cortot in Paris .Kaprál composed about fifty opuses, mainly solo piano, vocal, and chamber...
. In 1930-1935 Kaprálová studied composition with Vilém Petrželka
Vilém Petrželka
Vilém Petrželka was a prominent Czech composer and conductor.Petrželka was a pupil of Leoš Janáček, Vítězslav Novák and Karel Hoffmeister...
and conducting with Zdeněk Chalabala
Zdenek Chalabala
Zdeněk Chalabala was a Czech conductor. He conducted orchestras in Prague, Ostrava, Moscow.In 1924 he founded Slovácká filharmonie. He was chief opera conductor of the Slovak National Theatre, where he produced many Yugoslav and Russian operas. He was also conductor in the National Theatre of Brno...
at the Brno Conservatory
Brno Conservatory
The Brno Conservatory, also Brno Conservatoire , was established in Brno on 25 September 1919 by Moravian composer Leoš Janáček.- History :...
. She continued her musical education with Vítězslav Novák
Vítezslav Novák
Vítězslav Novák was one of the most well-respected Czech composers and pedagogues, almost singlehandedly founding a mid-century Czech school of composition...
and Václav Talich
Václav Talich
Václav Talich was a Czech conductor, violinist and pedagogue.- Life :Born in Kroměříž, Moravia, he started his musical career in a student orchestra in Klatovy. From 1897 to 1903 he studied at the conservatory in Prague with Otakar Ševčík...
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(1935–1937) and with Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Martinu
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
, Charles Münch
Charles Münch
Charles Munch was an Alsatian symphonic conductor and violinist. Noted for his mastery of the French orchestral repertoire, he is best known as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.-Biography:...
, and Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger
Nadia Boulanger was a French composer, conductor and teacher who taught many composers and performers of the 20th century.From a musical family, she achieved early honours as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, but believing that her talent as a composer was inferior to that of her younger...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(1937–1940). In 1937 she conducted Czech Philharmonic and a year later the BBC Orchestra in her composition Military Sinfonietta
Sinfonietta (symphony)
A sinfonietta is a symphony that is smaller in scale or lighter in approach than a standard symphony. Although of Italian form, the word is not genuine in that language and has seldom been used by Italian composers. It appears to have been coined in 1874 by Joachim Raff for his Op...
, to much critical acclaim. Her husband was the Czech writer Jiří Mucha
Jirí Mucha
Jiří Mucha was a Czech journalist, writer, screenwriter, author of autobiographical novels and studies of the works of his father, the Art Nouveau painter Alphonse Mucha.- Life :...
.
Despite her untimely death in 1940, Kaprálová created an impressive body of work. There is no doubt that had she lived she would have become one of the greatest women composers in Europe. Her music was greatly admired by Rafael Kubelík
Rafael Kubelík
Rafael Jeroným Kubelík was a Czech conductor and composer.-Early life:Kubelík was born in Býchory, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, today's Czech Republic. He was the sixth child of the Bohemian violinist Jan Kubelík, whom the younger Kubelík described as "a kind of god to me." His mother was a Hungarian...
who premiered her orchestral song Waving Farewell and also performed several of her other works. Among the many interpreters of her piano music
Piano Music
Piano Music is a suite of four short pieces composed by Alexina Louie in 1982 for the Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects. The four pieces are The Enchanted Bells, Changes, Distant Memories, and Once upon a time....
was also the esteemed Rudolf Firkušný
Rudolf Firkusny
- Life :Born in Moravian Napajedla, Firkušný started his musical studies with the composers Leoš Janáček and Josef Suk, and the pianist Vilém Kurz. Later he studied with Alfred Cortot and Artur Schnabel. He began performing on the continent of Europe in the 1920s, and made his debuts in London in...
for whom Kaprálová composed her best known piano work April Preludes. In 1946, in appreciation of her distinctive contribution, the foremost academic institution in the country - The Czech Academy of Sciences and the Arts - awarded Kaprálová membership in memoriam. By 1948 this honour was bestowed on only 10 women, out of 648 members of the Academy. Only one of the ten women was a musician - Kaprálová.
Kaprálová's creative output includes her highly regarded art songs and music for piano solo, a string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
, music for cello, music for violin and piano, a cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
, two piano concertos, one orchestral suite, a sinfonietta
Sinfonietta (symphony)
A sinfonietta is a symphony that is smaller in scale or lighter in approach than a standard symphony. Although of Italian form, the word is not genuine in that language and has seldom been used by Italian composers. It appears to have been coined in 1874 by Joachim Raff for his Op...
, and a concertino
Concertino (composition)
A concertino is a short concerto freer in form. It normally takes the form of a one-movement musical composition for solo instrument and orchestra, though some concertinos are written in several movements played without a pause....
for clarinet, violin, and orchestra. Much of her music was published during her lifetime and continues to be published today (some compositions in subsequent editions) by various publishing houses, including the distinguished Bärenreiter Verlag. In addition, her music has been released on record and compact disc by a variety of labels, including Koch Records
Koch Records
E1 Music , the primary subsidiary of E1 Entertainment LP, is the largest independent record label in the United States. It is also distributed by the Universal Music Group in Europe under the name E1 Universal...
and Supraphon
Supraphon
Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, it is oriented mainly towards publishing classical music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers.- History :...
.
Further reading
- Hartl, Karla and Erik Entwistle, eds. The Kaprálová Companion. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2011.
Discography
- Orchestral and Chamber Works: Vitezslava Kapralova: Portrait of the Composer, CD, Matous MK 0049-2011
- Piano Concerto and other works for keyboard: Vitezslava Kapralova, CD, Radioservis CRO722-2
- Piano Solo / Piano and Violin: The Music of Vitezslava Kapralova, CD, Koch Records KIC-CD-7742
- Art Songs: Forever Kapralova: Songs, CD, Supraphon SU3752-2 231
- Complete discography
External links
- KAPRALOVA SOCIETY at kapralova.org - this ultimate source on Kaprálová based on original research includes the composer's bio, list of works, sound samples, discography, works published, bibliography, reviews, performance and broadcasts calendar, and a downloadable, free online journal publishing research by Kapralova scholars. Maintained by the Kapralova Society, Toronto, Canada.