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 *Czech (surnam ...

jazz and pop music singer.

Biography

Pilarová was born in

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

. 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 (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, 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, phra ...

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 Czechs, Czech comedian, poet, lyricist, prolific songwriter and occasional film-maker and prose writer. Plenty of his songs have become extremely popular within several successive generations. Currently he ...

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'' () is a 1965 Czechoslovak musical directed by Ján Roháč and Vladimír Svitáček Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in di ...

'' (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 (; 2 July 1932 – 30 May 2009) was a Czech 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 Vladislav Matuška on 2 Jul ...

Karel Gott Karel Gott (14 July 1939 – 1 October 2019) was a Czech singer, considered the most successful male singer in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. He was voted the country's best male singer in the annual ''Český slavík'' (''Czech Nighti ...

and others. After the

Velvet revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

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 language, Czech and Slovak language, 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 ...

. 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 ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. 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 and SFR Yugoslavia, Yugoslav singer whose work has spawned many different genres, from Rock music, rock and Pop music, pop to jazz and ethnic music. Known for her unique contralto, Lisac is wid ...

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 Pavel Šporcl (born 25 April 1973) is a Czech violinist. He was a notable pupil of Václav Snítil Václav Snítil (1 March 1928, in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic – 19 July 2015, in Prague) was a Czech people, Czech violinist and music educa ...

, Monika 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) is a Czech actress. She played over 200 film roles during her career and is among the most popular Czech actresses. For her lifelong contribution to Czech film and theatre, she has received several awards and s ...

. 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.

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 Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), ...

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 Czech women pop singers Czech jazz singers Czech women jazz singers Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic) Deaths from kidney failure Zlatý slavík winners 20th-century Czech women singers Czechoslovak women singers Czech guitarists Czech women guitarists Czech percussionists Women percussionists