Vítězslava Kaprálová

Vítězslava Kaprálová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvɪ.tjɛ.sla.va ka.ˈpra:.lo.va:]) (January 24, 1915 – June 16, 1940) was a Czech composer and conductor.

Vítězslava Kaprálová was born in Brno, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Czech Republic), a daughter of composer Václav Kaprál and singer Viktorie Kaprálová. In 1930-1935 she studied composition with Vilém Petrželka and conducting with Zdeněk Chalabala at the Brno Conservatory. She continued her musical education with Vítězslav Novák (1935–37) and Václav Talich (1935-36) in Prague and with Bohuslav Martinů, Charles Munch (1937–39) and, according to some unverified accounts, with Nadia Boulanger (1940) in Paris. In 1937 she conducted the Czech Philharmonic and a year later the BBC Symphony Orchestra in her composition Military Sinfonietta. Her husband was the Czech writer Jiří Mucha, whom she married two months before she died. Despite her untimely death, from what was misdiagnosed as miliary tuberculosis, in Montpellier, France at the age of 25, Kaprálová created an impressive body of work. Her music was admired by Rafael Kubelík, 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, 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 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 biography of the composer was published in 2011 by Lexington Books in the United States. The book also includes a complete, annotated catalog of her works.

She was "Composer of the Week" on BBC Radio 3 from Monday 12th Oct to Fri 16th Oct 2015, a set of five one hour programs playing her music and discussing her life.

Kaprálová's catalogue includes her highly regarded art songs and music for piano solo, a string quartet, a reed trio, music for cello, music for violin and piano, an orchestral cantata, two piano concertos, two orchestral suites, 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 Bärenreiter Verlag. In addition, her music has been released on record and compact disc by a variety of labels, including Naxos, Koch Records and Supraphon.

Vítězslava Kaprálová's work and life was featured in episode 6, season 3 of the television series Mozart in the Jungle.

BOOKS:

• Hartl, Karla and Erik Entwistle, eds. The Kaprálová Companion. A guide to the life and music of Czech composer Vítězslava Kaprálová. 240 pp. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7391-6723-6

ARTICLES:

• 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.
• Hartl, Karla. "The Centenary of Vitezslava Kapralova." Kapralova Society Journal 13, no. 1 (Spring 2015): 1-5.
• Jandura, Tereza. "Kaprálová’s Jablko s klína, op. 10." Kapralova Society Journal 9, no. 1 (Spring 2011): 1-11.
• Kostas, Martin. "An Analysis of Compositional Methods Applied in Kaprálová’s Cantata Ilena, op. 15." Kapralova Society Journal 10, no. 1 (Spring 2012): 1–6.
• 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. "Kapralova and the Muses: Understanding the Qualified Composer." Kapralova Society Journal 10, no. 2 (Fall 2012): 1–6.
• Vejvarova, Michaela. "Vítězslava Kaprálová's Last Concertino." Czech Music 4 (2001): 6-7.

DISSERTATIONS AND THESES:

• Blalock, Marta. Analysis and performance problems of Vítězslava Kaprálová’s String quartet, op. 8 (1935-1936). Dissertation for B.Mus. & M.M., University of Georgia, 2000, 2003.
• Jandura, Tereza. Her Own Voice: The Art Songs of Vitezslava Kapralova. DMA dissertation. University of Arizona, 2009.
• Lytle, Rebecca. An Analysis of Selected Works of Vitezslava Kapralova. Master's thesis, University of Texas at El Paso, 2008.

• Five Piano Compositions
• Two Works for Violin and Piano, op. 3
• Two Songs, op. 4
• Sparks from Ashes, op. 5
• January, for tenor/soprano, flute, two violins, violoncello and piano
• Sonata Appassionata, for piano, op. 6
• Piano Concerto in D Minor, op. 7
• String Quartet, op. 8
• Three Piano Pieces, op. 9
• Apple from the Lap, op. 10
• Military Sinfonietta, op. 11
• Forever, op. 12
• April Preludes, for piano, op. 13
• Waving Farewell, for voice and piano/orchestra, op. 14
• Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon
• Ilena, cantata for soli, mixed chorus, orchestra, and reciter, op. 15
• Variations sur le carillon de l'église St-Étienne du Mont, for piano, op. 16
• Elegy, for violin and piano
• Suita Rustica, for orchestra, op. 19
• Partita, for piano and string orchestra, op. 20
• Concertino, for violin, clarinet and orchestra, op. 21
• Sung into the Distance, op. 22
• Deux ritournelles pour violoncelle et piano, op. 25

• Complete piano music: Kaprálová: Complete piano music, CD, Naxos (Grand Piano) GP708
• Piano concerto and other works for keyboard: Vitezslava Kapralova, CD, Radioservis CRO577-2
• Music for piano / piano and violin: Vítězslava Kaprálová, CD, Koch Records KIC-CD-7742
• String quartet Kapral-Kapralova-Martinu, CD, Radioservis CRO618-2
• Chamber and orchestral works: Vitezslava Kapralova: Portrait of the Composer, CD, Matous MK 0049-2 011
• Art songs: Forever Kapralova: Songs, CD, Supraphon SU3752-2 231