Vítězslava Kaprálová (1915-1940) Czech Republic
- andreachamizoalber
- Aug 31
- 2 min read
Composer and conductor Vítězslava Kaprálová was born in Brno, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now the Czech Republic. She studied at the Brno Conservatory between 1930 and 1935, before continuing her studies in Prague. In 1937, she conducted the Czech Philharmonic and a year later the BBC Orchestra with her Military Sinfonietta, which I'm sharing below without a link to the score, although you can see it in the video :)
Kaprálová wrote music for solo piano, string quartet, wind trio, cello, 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. I'm sharing the Dubnová Preludia for piano and the link to the score:
She died in France from typhoid fever, and at just 25 years of age, she had managed to compose an impressive body of work. In 1946, in recognition of her distinctive contribution, the Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts named her a member in memoriam . By 1948, only 10 women had been honored, out of a total of 648 members of the Academy.
I share her Elegy for violin and piano as well as the link to the score:
Since 1998, Kaprálová's legacy has been promoted by the Kapralova Society, an organization in Toronto, Canada. The organization also seeks to balance gender in music through public education, advocacy, and the Kapralova Society Journal, a magazine for women in music.
Finally, I share her Piano Concerto (without score), a short documentary about the composer, and the link to IMSLP where you can find more of her scores.
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