Vítězslava Kaprálová (; 24 January 191516 June 1940) 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, ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and conductor of

20th-century classical music 20th-century classical music describes art music that was written nominally from 1901 to 2000, inclusive. Musical style diverged during the 20th century as it never had previously. So this century was without a dominant style. Modernism, impressio ...

Life and career

Vítězslava Kaprálová 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 ...

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

), a daughter of composer Václav Kaprál and singer Vítězslava Kaprálová (née Viktorie Uhlířová). From 1930-1935 she studied composition with

Vilém Petrželka Petrželka in 1931 Vilém Petrželka (10 September 1889, Brno, Moravia – 10 January 1967, Brno) was a prominent Czech composer and conductor. Petrželka was a pupil of Leoš Janáček, Vítězslav Novák and Karel Hoffmeister. From 1914 he ...

and conducting with

Zdeněk Chalabala Zdeněk Chalabala (18 April 1899 – 4 March 1962) was a Czechoslovak conductor. He conducted orchestras in Prague, Ostrava, Moscow. Chalabala was born in Uherské Hradiště. He studied conducting at the Brno Conservatory with František Neu ...

at the

Brno Conservatory The Brno Conservatory, also Brno Conservatoire ( cs, Konzervatoř Brno), was established in Brno on 25 September 1919 by Moravian composer Leoš Janáček. History Leoš Janáček attempted to establish and improve high musical education in Br ...

. She continued her musical education with

Vítězslav Novák Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and academic teacher at the Prague Conservatory. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important e ...

(1935–37) and

Václav Talich Václav Talich (; 28 May 1883, Kroměříž – 16 March 1961, Beroun) was a Czech violinist and later a musical pedagogue. He is remembered today as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, the object of countless reissues of his man ...

(1935–36) 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 ...

and with

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He bec ...

, Charles Munch (1937–39) and, according to some unverified accounts, with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

(1940) in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In 1937 she conducted the

Czech Philharmonic The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title ...

and a year later the

BBC Orchestra BBC Orchestras and Singers refers collectively to a number of orchestras, choirs and other musical ensembles, maintained by the BBC. Current operation All of the BBC’s Orchestras and Singers record performances primarily for BBC Radio 3, with ...

in her composition ''Military Sinfonietta.'' Her husband was the

writer

Jiří Mucha Jiří Mucha (12 March 1915 in Prague – 5 April 1991 in Prague) was a Czech journalist, writer, screenwriter, author of autobiographical novels and studies of the works of his father, the painter Alphonse Mucha. Life Born in Prague, he was ...

, whom she married two months before she died. Despite her untimely death, possibly from

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

misdiagnosed as

miliary tuberculosis To disseminate (from lat. ''disseminare'' "scattering seeds"), in the field of communication, is to broadcast a message to the public without direct feedback from the audience. Meaning Dissemination takes on the theory of the traditional view ...

, in

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

, France at the age of 25, Kaprálová created an impressive body of work. Her music was admired by

Rafael Kubelík Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer. Son of a well-known violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague, and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 1 ...

, who premiered her orchestral song ''Waving Farewell'' and also conducted her other orchestral works. Among the many interpreters of her piano music was pianist

Rudolf Firkušný Rudolf Firkušný (; 11 February 191219 July 1994) was a Moravians, Moravian-born, Moravian-American classical pianist. Life Born in Moravian town Napajedla, Firkušný started his musical studies with the composers Leoš Janáček and Josef ...

, for whom Kaprálová composed her best known piano work ''Dubnová preludia'' (April Preludes). In 1946, in appreciation of her distinctive contribution, the foremost academic institution in the country—the

Czech Academy of Sciences The Czech Academy of Sciences (abbr. CAS, cs, Akademie věd České republiky, abbr. AV ČR) was established in 1992 by the Czech National Council as the Czech successor of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and its tradition goes back ...

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. The only English language monograph on the composer was published in 2011 by Lexington Books in the United States. The book also includes an annotated catalog of her works. Kaprálová was "

Composer of the Week ''Composer of the Week'' is a long-running biographical music programme produced by BBC Cymru Wales and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. It is broadcast daily from Monday to Friday at 12 noon for an hour, each week's programmes being a self-containe ...

" on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

from Monday 12 October to Friday 16 October 2015, a set of five one-hour programs playing her music and discussing her life. In 2021, Kapralova was among the 58 personalities featured by the exhibition ''Portraits de France'', organized under the auspices of

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

in Paris, from December 1, 2021 to February 14, 2022. The 29 women and 29 men made the final cut from the original 318 nominees to be commemorated and celebrated for their contribution to the "national narrative of France."

Compositions

Kaprálová's catalogue includes her highly regarded art songs and music for piano solo, and a

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

, a reed trio, music for cello, music for violin and piano, an orchestral

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

, two

piano concertos A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

, two

orchestral suite A suite, in Western classical music and jazz, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/ concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes and grew in scope to comprise up to five dances, sometimes with ...

s, 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 by various publishing houses, including Schott and

Bärenreiter Verlag Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it also ...

. In addition, her music has been released on record and compact disc by a variety of labels, including Chandos,

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

, Koch International,

Albany Records Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987 and is based in Albany, New York. See also * List of record la ...

Centaur Records Centaur Records is one of the oldest and largest independent classical labels in America. The company is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was founded by Victor Sachse in 1976. Centaur's catalog includes classical, historical, pops, contemp ...

, Delos Productions, Gramola,

Claves Records Claves Records is a Swiss classical record label, which was founded in 1968 by Marguerite Dütschler-Hüber (1931–2006) in Thun. History Marguerite Dütschler-Hüber founded Claves with business partner Ursula Pfaehler when her piano teacher ...

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. T ...

, and others.

Legacy

Kapralova Society

Since 1998, Kaprálová's legacy has been promoted by the Kapralova Society, a non-profit music society based in Toronto, Ontario / Canada. The organization has been also seeking to redress the gender imbalance in music through public education, advocacy, and its '' Kapralova Society Journal'', "a journal of women in music".

In popular culture

* Featured in Season 3, episodes 6 and 9, of the television series ''

Mozart in the Jungle ''Mozart in the Jungle'' is an American comedy-drama streaming television series developed by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers, and Paul Weitz for the video-on-demand service Amazon Prime Video. It received a production order in M ...

''. * Featured in ''

The Glass Room ''The Glass Room'', by British author Simon Mawer, was published in 2009 by Other Press in the United States and Little Brown in the United Kingdom. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2009. Summary The Landauers, a recently marri ...

'' by

Simon Mawer Simon Mawer ( ; born 1948, England) is a British author who lives in Italy. Life and work Born in 1948 and was educated at Millfield School in Somerset and at Brasenose College, Oxford, Mawer took a degree in Zoology and has worked as a biology ...

Private Passions. BBC 3 (2011)

List of compositions

''Selected works'' * ''Suite en miniature'', op. 1 for small orchestra * Two Compositions for Violin and Piano, op. 3 * Song cycle ''Two Songs'', op. 4 * Song cycle ''Sparks from Ashes'', op. 5 * ''January'', for voice, flute, two violins, violoncello and piano * ''Sonata Appassionata'', op. 6 for piano * Piano Concerto in D Minor, op. 7 * String Quartet, op. 8 * Grotesque Passacaglia for piano * Three Piano Pieces, op. 9 * Song cycle ''Apple from the Lap'', op. 10 * ''Sad Evening'', for voice and orchestra * ''Military Sinfonietta'', op. 11 for large orchestra * Song cycle ''Forever'', op. 12 * ''April Preludes'', op. 13 for piano * ''Waving Farewell'', op. 14 for voice and piano/orchestra * Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon * ''Ilena'', op. 15. Cantata for soli, mixed choir, reciter and orchestra * ''Variations sur le carillon de l'église St-Etienne du Mont'', op. 16 for piano * ''Two Choruses for Women's Voices a cappella'', op. 17 * ''Elegy'', for violin and piano * ''Suita Rustica'', op. 19 for orchestra * Partita, op. 20 for piano and string orchestra * Concertino for Violin, Clarinet and Orchestra, op. 21 * Song cycle ''Sung into the Distance'', op. 22 * ''Deux ritournelles'', op. 25 for violoncello and piano

Selected discography

* La Vita: Leonie Karatas plays Vítězslava Kaprálov�
piano music, CD, EuroArts (2022)
* Orchestral Music (Prélude de Noël, Suite en miniature, Military Sinfonietta, Piano Concerto, orchestral songs Waving Farewell and Sad Evening

* Orchestral Works (Piano Concerto, Suita rustica, Military Sinfonietta, Partita, Concertino
Kaprálová: Orchestral Works, CD, Radioservis CR0791-2
* Piano concerto and works for keyboard

* Complete piano music

* Music for piano / piano and violin

* Art songs

* String quarte

Notes

References

* * * * *

Bibliography

Books

*Gates, Eugene and Karla Hartl, eds. ''The Women in Music Anthology.'' Toronto: The Kapralova Society, 2021. *Hartl, Karla and Erik Entwistle, eds. ''The Kaprálová Companion.'' Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2011.

Articles

*Armstrong, Asher Ian. "Ephemeral Incandescence: the ''April Preludes'' of Vítězslava Kaprálová." ''Kapralova Society Journal'' 21, no. 1 (Winter 2023): 1-4. *Blalock, Marta. "Kaprálová's String Quartet, op. 8." ''Kapralova Society Journal'' 8, no. 1 (Spring 2010): 1-10. *Cheek, Timothy. "Navždy (Forever) Kaprálová: Reevaluating Czech composer Vítězslava Kaprálová through her thirty songs." ''Kapralova Society Journal'' 3, no. 2 (Fall 2005): 1-6. *Cheek, Timothy. "''Sad Evening,'' Great Discovery: Bringing to Light a New Song by Vítězslava Kaprálová" ''Kapralova Society Journal'' 12, no. 1 (Spring 2014): 1-7. *Egeling, Stephane. "Kaprálová’s Trio for oboe, clarinet and bassoon." ''Kapralova Society Journal'' 9, no. 2 (Fall 2011): 5-8. *Entwistle, Erik. "To je Julietta. Martinů, Kaprálová and Musical Symbolism." ''Kapralova Society Newsletter'' 2, no. 2 (Fall 2004): 1-15. *Fischer, Christine. "Ending Republican Gender Politics: Kaprálová's Cantata Ilena." ''Kapralova Society Journal'' 18, no. 2 (Summer 2020): 1–11. *Hartl, Karla. "Kaprálová as a Composer of the Week. The BBC Interview." ''Journal of Czech and Slovak Music'' 29 (2020): 204–221. *Hartl, Karla. "The Power of Advocacy in Music: The Case of Vítězslava Kaprálová." ''Journal of Czech and Slovak Music'' 27 (2018): 4–32. *Hartl, Karla. "Vítězslava Kaprálová: Thematic Catalogue of the Works. An Introduction." ''Kapralova Society Journal'' 21, no. 1 (Winter 2023): 5–11. *Houtchens, Alan. "Love's Labour's Lost: Martinů, Kaprálová and Hitler." In ''Irish Musical Studies'' 4, pp. 127–132. Edited by Patrick F. Devine & Harry White. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1996. *Jandura, Tereza. "Kaprálová’s Jablko s klína, op. 10." ''Kapralova Society Journal'' 9, no. 1 (Spring 2011): 1-11. *Kostaš, Martin. "An Analysis of Compositional Methods Applied in Kaprálová’s Cantata Ilena, op. 15." ''Kapralova Society Journal'' 10, no. 1 (Spring 2012): 1–6. *Koukl, Giorgio. "Vítězslava Kaprálová: Two Dances for Piano, op. 23 (1940). An attempt at reconstruction of the autograph." ''Kapralova Society Journal'' 18, no. 1 (Winter 2020): 8–12. *Latour, Michelle. "Kaprálová’s song Leden." ''Kapralova Society Journal'' 9, no. 1 (2011): 1-4. *Latour, Michelle. "Kaprálová’s Vteřiny, op. 18." ''Kapralova Society Journal'' 10, no. 1 (Spring 2012): 7–10. *Paige, Diane M. "Kaprálová and the Muses: Understanding the Qualified Composer." ''Kapralova Society Journal'' 10, no. 2 (Fall 2012): 1–6. *Svatos, Thomas D. "On the Literary Reception of Kaprálová and Martinů: Jiří Mucha's ''Peculiar Loves'' and Miroslav Barvík's 'At Tři Studně.'" ''Zwischentöne'' 2 (2017): 71-90. *Vejvarová, Michaela. "Vítězslava Kaprálová's Last Concertino." ''Czech Music'' 4 (2001): 6-7.

Dissertations and Master's theses

*Blalock, Marta. ''Analysis and performance problems of Vítězslava Kaprálová’s String quartet, op. 8 (1935-1936).'' DMA dissertation. University of Georgia, 2008. *Jandura, Tereza. ''Her Own Voice: The Art Songs of Vítězslava Kaprálová.'' DMA dissertation. University of Arizona, 2009. *Lytle, Rebecca. ''An Analysis of Selected Works of Vítězslava Kaprálová.'' Master's thesis, University of Texas at El Paso, 2008.

External links

Kapralova Society
official website of the composer, maintained by the Kapralova Society in

Toronto, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

.
Composer of the Week: Vitezslava Kapralova
- a digest of the five-hour radio documentary on Kaprálová from BBC Radio 3.
The In Concert Revival Hour: Vítězslava Kaprálová
- a 68-minute radio documentary on Kaprálová from CBC Radio 2. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kapralova, Vitezslava 1915 births 1940 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century women composers 20th-century conductors (music) Composers for piano Czech classical composers Czech conductors (music) Czechoslovak expatriates in France Women classical composers École Normale de Musique de Paris alumni Prague Conservatory alumni Brno Conservatory alumni Musicians from Brno People from the Margraviate of Moravia Women conductors (music)