Eva Pilarová, née Bojanovská (9 August 1939 – 14 March 2020) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

jazz and pop music singer.

Biography

Pilarová was born in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

. She started singing during her childhood, including classical music. She studied singing at the Janáček Academy of Arts in

. Her idols were

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

. In 1960, she became a member of the Semafor Theater in Prague where she sang alongside performers such as

Jiří Suchý Jiří Suchý (born 1 October 1931) is a Czech film actor, writer and stage actor. He also writes music. Currently he is the owner of the theatre Semafor in Prague where he has performed for many years and which he helped to establish in 1959. ...

and

Jiří Šlitr Jiří Šlitr (15 February 1924 in Zálesní Lhota near Jilemnice – 26 December 1969 in Prague) was a Czech songwriter, pianist, singer, actor and painter. Together with Jiří Suchý he significantly influenced Czech pop music and theatre in ...

. In 1962 she left the theatre temporarily to sing in the Theater Rokoko, but in 1964 returned to Semafor. In the same year she also had a minor role in the film ''

If a Thousand Clarinets ''If a Thousand Clarinets'' ( cs, Kdyby tisíc klarinetů) is a 1965 Czechoslovak musical directed by Ján Roháč and Vladimír Svitáček. The film was a success especially among younger audience, but raised some controversies because of its ant ...

'' (as a chorus-singer of the girl school). During her singing career she has had a large number of hits, including duets with

Waldemar Matuška Waldemar Matuška (; July 2, 1932 – May 30, 2009) was a Czechoslovak singer who became popular in his homeland during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1986, he immigrated to the United States. Early career Waldemar Matuška was born in Košice, Czech ...

Karel Gott ) Sinatra of the East( cs, Sinatra Východu, link=no)Divine Charlie Velvet revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

of 17 November 1989, she traveled several times to United States to sing mainly for Czech emigrants. In 1977, to continue her career, she signed the Anti-charter organised against

Charter 77 Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech and Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Jiří Něm ...

. She justified it with her existential problems: after emigration of her first husband (a trumpeter Milan Pilar) and her second husband (singer Jaromír Mayer) she was afraid that she should not be allowed to sing in the media. She was active in her profession continuously until her death in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. She wrote two cookbooks. She was also an avid photographer, taking many photos especially of nature and cities. She had several photo exhibitions in the Czech Republic. In addition to the fame she achieved in Czechoslovakia, i.e. the Czech Republic, Eva Pilarová was a singer of considerable international reputation in Europe. Thus, at the

Split Festival The Split Festival (officially ''Festival zabavne glazbe Split'' or ''Splitski Festival'') is a pop music festival held annually, in July, in Split, Croatia. It has been held since 1960. It is one of the premier Croatian music festivals. Since its ...

in 1970, she sang the song ''My Captain'' (''Kapetane moj'') in alternation with

Josipa Lisac Josipa Lisac (; born 14 February 1950) is a Croatian pop rock singer. Biography During the 1960s, Lisac was the vocalist of the group Zlatni Akordi. Her first solo album, '' Dnevnik jedne ljubavi'' (''The Diary of a Love''), recorded in 1973, was ...

Last goodbye

The memorial mass for Eve Pilarová took place on Wednesday 3 June 2020 at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Prague, Strahov. Celebroval rev. Marian Pospěcha, performed a number of artists ( Adam Plachetka, Pavel Šporcl,

Monika Absolonová Monika Absolonová (born 27 September 1976) is a Czech singer and actress. She released her first album, ''Monika'', in 1993. In 2002, she performed the title role in the famous Czech musical, Kleopatra, at Prague's Broadway Theatre. Absolonová ...

and others), state authorities represented by Minister of Culture

Lubomír Zaorálek Lubomír Zaorálek (born 6 September 1956) is a Czech politician, who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka from 2014 to 2017, and Minister of Culture under Prime Minister Andrej Babiš from 2019 to 2021. ...

and acting village

Jiřina Bohdalová Jiřina Bohdalová (born 3 May 1931 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic) is a Czech actress. Career She began acting in theatre and film at an early age. She was accepted to The Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts ...

. Tv Noe prepared the live stream. Marian Pospěcha also appreciated in his homilia her song "There for Water in the Reeds" (is Paradise), sung with

. On behalf of the singers, he said goodbye in touching language (I love you!)

Vojta Dyk Vojta can be either a shorter version of the first name Vojtěch or a surname. Notable people with the name include: *Andreas Vojta (born 1989), Austrian Olympic distance runner * Jakub Vojta (born 1991), Czech association football player * Jakub Vo ...

Respect

* The Czech writer

Josef Škvorecký Josef Škvorecký (; September 27, 1924 – January 3, 2012) was a Czech-Canadian writer and publisher. He spent half of his life in Canada, publishing and supporting banned Czech literature during the communist era. Škvorecký was awarded the ...

loved her voice and singing, he praised her repeatedly: **''Without her art, something would be missing in the Czech culture''. **''If there was anybody, who could sing everything, it was Pilarka.''

Awards

* She won the Golden Nightingale award of the Czechoslovakia four times (1963, 1964, 1967, 1971). * In 1967, she won the International Intervision Song Contest in Bavaria. * In 1967 she was awarded

Grand Prix du Disque Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

for her interpretation of "Requiem".

References

External links

*
Eva Pilarová on Czech TVNadační listy, pages 12–17
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilarova, Eva 1939 births 2020 deaths Musicians from Brno 21st-century Czech women singers Czech pop singers Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) Deaths from kidney failure Zlatý slavík winners 20th-century Czech women singers Czechoslovak women singers