We have released a unique collection of recordings of Vítězslava Kaprálová’s complete orchestral works titled Vítězslava Kaprálová – The Completed Orchestral Works. The CD collection was released in collaboration with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava and the prestigious German label cpo (Classic Produktion Osnabrück).

The recordings were made during May and June 2022, as one of the last projects of the Ostrava orchestra in the House of Culture of the City of Ostrava before moving to the temporary premises of the former Kino Vesmír, under the direction of Czech conductor Alena Hron, and were completed in 2023. The music was directed by Pavel Kunčar, sound by director Jana Jelínková, and featured soprano Veronika Rovná and pianist Tomáš Vrána, who, in addition to recording the Piano Concerto and the Partita for Piano and Strings, also recorded the original and previously unrecorded version of the solo Suite for Piano. The album also brings listeners the world premiere recording of Fanfare for Brass Instruments and Timpani – one of Kaprálová’s last works.

Although Kaprálová lived only to the age of 25, she was an incredibly talented composer on the path to becoming one of the musical greats. She studied composition and conducting at the Brno Conservatory, and at the Master School of the Prague Conservatory, she studied under conductor Václav Talich and composer Vítězslav Novák. In Paris, during her musical development at the Ecole Normale de Musique, she also took lessons from Bohuslav Martinů. At the age of twenty-two, she conducted the Czech Philharmonic, and a year later, the BBC Orchestra, performing her Military Sinfonietta. Following her death in 1940, she was posthumously granted membership in the newly formed Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts for her extraordinary contributions. She thus became the only female musician among just 10 women to receive this honor in 1948 (out of a total of 648 members of the Academy). Her highly acclaimed works have been published by numerous publishers worldwide. The legacy of this composer and conductor continues to be preserved by the Canadian foundation and publishing house, The Kapralova Society.

Sdílet na Facebooku