Miroslav Barvik
Tamara Blahova
Pavel Blatny
Hannah Bos
Petra Bouska Kvapilova
Tim Buck
Daniel Camsky
Roman Coppola
Martin Dvorak
Erik Entwistle
Ladislav Faltejsek
Dodo Gombar
Robert Gurdonark
Martin Hlavaty
Jana Hlavova
Toni Ivanisevic
Tomas Jarkovsky
Vaclav Kapral
Milan Knobloch
Daniela Kosinova
Katerina Kraftova
Miroslav Kubovy
Rudolf Kundera
Veronika Mandl
Bohuslav Martinu
Simon Mawer
Renate Moran
Jiri Mucha
Milica Paranosic
Maria Persson
Pavla Quinn
Marina Richterova
Hana Roguljic
Ken Russel
Katerina Ruzickova
Jason Schwartzman
Milos Sokola
Spankeol
Jaroslav Sveceny
Alex Timbers
Katerina Tuckova
Jindrich Uher
Jakub Vasicek
Lenka Vojtiskova
Paul Weitz

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VitezslavaKAPRALOVA–THE MUSE: THE WORKS SHE INSPIRED
For some, it is her music; for others, her life story; but as a true muse, Kapralova has captured imagination of musicians, poets, writers, playwrights, screenwriters, documentary filmmakers, dancers and visual artists. Here are some of the works she inspired:


  • 1916 Vaclav Kapral: Berceuses de printemps for piano
  • 1937 Ladislav Faltejsek: Vitezslava Kapralova (sculpture)
  • 1938 Bohuslav Martinu: Tre ricercari, String Quartet No. 5, Fenêtre sur le jardin, Double Concerto [1]
  • 1939 Bohuslav Martinu: Conte, Bergerettes, Czech Madrigals
  • 1939 Rudolf Kundera: Portrait of a conductor (two sketches and a painting)
  • 1940 Bohuslav Martinu: Cello Sonata No. 1, Fantaisie et Toccata
  • 1940 Vaclav Kapral: Dve vzpominky (Two Reminiscences) for piano; Predtucha (Premonition) for piano
  • 1940 Miroslav Barvik, Milan Harasta, Gernot Kasik et al.: piano cycle "In memory of V. Kapralova"[2]
  • 1942 Vaclav Kapral: Milodejne kviti (Amorous Flowers) for two voices and piano
  • 1943 Jiri Mucha: Most (The Bridge) (novel)
  • 1945 Jiri Mucha: Problemy nadporucika Knapa (The Problems of Lieutenant Knap) (novel)
  • 1952 Milos Sokola: Variazioni sul tema di Vitezslava Kapralova per grande orchestra
  • 1957 Bohuslav Martinu: Adagio [3]
  • 1963 Lenka Vojtiskova: Posledni dny Vitezky Kapralove (Last Days of Vitezka Kapralova) (a short story)
  • 1963 Jana Hlavova: Vitezka Kapralova (poem)
  • 1968 Jiri Mucha: Studene slunce (Cold Sun) (novel-autobiography)
  • 1989 Jiri Mucha: Podivne lasky (Strange Loves) (novel-autobiography)
  • 1990 Pavel Blatny: Strange Loves. Dramatic scenes for tenor, soprano and orchestra
  • 1993 Ken Russell: The Mystery of Dr. Martinu (television film)[4]
  • 1995 Jindrich Uher: Ona a Martinu (She and Martinu) (novel)[5]
  • 2002 Katerina Kraftova: Chaloupka (Little Cottage) for voice and piano, on a text of Vitezslava Kapralova[6]
  • 2002 Katerina Ruzickova: Life Attitudes for Piano and Strings[7]
  • 2002 Wolfgang Mastnak: Klangmomente für klavier solo nach motiven von Vitezslava Kapralova
  • 2003 Pavel Blatny: Letter. A romantic monologue on a theme of a letter of Vitezslava Kapralova, for violin and piano
  • 2003 Daniela Kosinova: Omnia vincit amor, for lower voice and string quartet
  • 2003 (?) Miroslav Kubovy: Vitezslava Kapralova. From the cycle "Vyhrezle hlavy" (Bursting Heads) (a print)
  • 2004 Renate Moran: Malerei zur musik von Vitezslava Kapralova (painting)
  • 2004 (?) Jaroslav Sveceny: Composition on a Motif by V. Kapralova, for Solo Violin
  • 2005 Robert Gurdonark: Kapralova's Escape. Experimental electronics
  • 2008 Milan Knobloch: Vitezslava Kapralova (metal relief sculpture)
  • 2009 Simon Mawer: The Glass Room (novel)[8]
  • 2011 Pavla Quinn: Kapralova Dejavu (painting)
  • 2011 Zdenek Mirko Schlappl: Devadesatpet bilych ruzi (poem)
  • 2012 Tim Buck: The Secret Ballet (poem)
  • 2012 Milica Paranosic: New Bohemian Suite on melodies of Vitezslava Kapralova and Alma Mahler
  • 2012 Tamara Blahova: Vitezslava Kapralova 1915-2015 (commemorative coin design)[9]
  • 2013 Paul Ewert: Postmediteranni invence IV aneb Mala lotrinska nuklearni sinfonietta podle Vitezslavy Kapralove (fotokolaz, akryl a kostky lega na platne, 70 x 70 cm / photo collage, acrylic, LEGO parts on canvas).
  • 2014 Hana Roguljic: Vitezslava (radio play)[10]
  • 2015 Marina Richterova: Vitezslava Kapralova 1915-1940 (commemorative postal stamp)[11]
  • 2015 Martin Hlavaty: Carte Maximum Vitezslava Kapralova (postcard)
  • 2015 Martin Dvorak: Poets of the City (choreography)[12]
  • 2015 Tomas Jarkovsky, Jakub Vasicek, Daniel Camsky: Jiri Mucha: Carpe Diem (musical theatre)[13]
  • 2016 Roman Coppola, Hannah Bos, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers, Paul Weitz: Mozart in the Jungle. A television series season 3, episodes 6 and 9.[14]
  • 2017 Spankeol: Digital album "Investigations of a dog X Spankeol" Track 12: Vitezslava Kapralova. Her Life and Sound.
  • 2017 David Seidman: Kapralova the Composer (Image)
  • 2018 Katerina Tuckova: Vitka (theatre play)[15]
  • 2018 Maria Persson: Kapralova's portrait (chalk on paper, digitally processed)
  • 2018 Christine Fisher: Kapralova's portrait (painting)
  • 2018 Erik Entwistle: Six Variations on a Theme[16] by Vita Kapralova (listen and download the score)
  • 2020 Dodo Gombar: Martinu. Ceska rapsodie Bohuslava (theatre play)[17]
  • 2022 Boulanger Initiative: Kapralova's portrait (poster for women's history month)
  • 2022 Toni Ivanisevic: Stringification hip-hop instrumental based on samples from Concertino fo violin, clarinet and orchestra
  • 2022 Veronika Mandl: Agathes Musikkoffer—Ich will Komponistin Werden! (musical theatre for children)
  • 2023 Petra Bouska Kvapilova: Kapralova's portrait (at the exhibition Janacek's Kamila in Berlin on September 10, 2023).

    Please note that the above list includes only works of literature (poetry and fiction), visual arts, performing arts (music, dance, theatre), and media arts (film, radio, and television).

    Notes:

    [1] The "Julietta motif," (from his opera Julietta ), which for Martinu became closely associated with Kapralova, appears in a number of Martinu's compositions that include but are not limited to: String Quartet No. 5 [1938], Fenętre sur le jardin [1938], Double Concerto [1938], Concertino for Piano and Orchestra [1938]; Fantasy and Toccata [1940]; Mazurka [1941]; Dumka [1941]; Piano Quartet [1942]; Symphony No. 1 [1942]; Sinfonietta La Jolla [1950]; Rhapsody-Concerto for Viola [1952]; Sonata for Violoncello, No. 3 [1952]; Symphonic Fantasies [1953]; Cantata "L'eveil des sources" [1955]; and Adagio [1957]. I am indebted to Dr. Erik Entwistle for identifying these works. For a thorough analysis of Julietta symbolism as it appears in Martinu's, and, most interestingly, in Kapralova's music, see Erik Entwistle's dissertation (listed in the bibliography that follows). His article on the subject has been published in Kapralova Society Newsletter 2, no. 2 (Fall 2004).
    [2] The authors were students of Kapral's 1940 composition class at the Brno Conservatory. The cycle was composed as a tribute to both Kapralova and her father. The dedication reads: "In memoriam V. Kapralove, jako manifestacni vyraz souciteni a obdivu Vaclavu Kapralovi" (In memory of V. Kapralova as a statement of our admiration for Vaclav Kapral and of our sympathy for his great loss).
    [3] Martinu's dedication reads: In memory of Vaclav Kapral and Vitulka.
    [4] A biographical (television) film of Bohuslav Martinu is in two parts: the first part is a recurring dream, the second a Freudian analysis of the dream. Director: Ken Russell. Cast: Patrick Ryecart, Shauna Baird, Hannah King, and others. More information at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213101/
    [5] Schneider, Jan. "Rozpadle knize o Martinu a Kapralove schazi duse." Book review (Ona a Martinu). MF Dnes, 11 October 1995, 19.
    [6] The then 8-year-old pianist set her song to words of Kapralova's poem Chaloupka (Little Cottage) from 1927.
    [7] The work, commissioned by Raduga Ensemble, was inspired by Kapralova's Partita, op. 20.
    [8] Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The author noted in a preamble to the book: "A few non-fictional characters do make brief appearances. One such is the talented composer Vitezslava Kapralova, whose tragically short life seems emblematic of the brilliant but doomed First Republic of Czechoslovakia. I urge the reader to find out more about her, and her country."
    [9] This was the first project commemorating Kapralova's centenary. The designer Tamara Blahova, a student of a junior high school in Slavkov u Brna, was only 15 years old when she designed the coin.
    [10] A production of the Czech Radio 3 (Vltava). Cast: Magdalena Borova (Vitezslava Kapralova), Tatjana Medvecka (Vituse Kapralova), Igor Bares (Vaclav Kapral), Lukas Hlavica (Bohuslav Martinu), Marek Holy (Jiri Mucha), Frantisek Nemec (Vitezslav Novak), Lucie Jurickova (Charlotte Martinu), David Matasek (Rudolf Kopec), Eva Salzmannova (senatorka Plaminkova), Jan Novotny (Edvard Benes), Martin Finger (doktor Liskutin), Miloslav Konig (Rudolf Firkusny) and others. Script: Hana Roguljic. Dramaturgy: Renata Venclova. Direction: Ales Vrzak. It was premiere broadcast on 27 March 2014.
    [11] A joint project of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Czech Post. Designed by Marina Richterova and rendered by M. Ondracek, the stamp was reseased on 20 January 2015, at the occasion of Kapralova's centenary.
    [12] The two-part performing arts project (theatre, music and dance) at the Tugendhat Villa pays homage to composer Vitezslava Kapralova and poet Ivan Blatny. Premiered on 20 July 2015 in Villa Tugendhat, Brno.
    [13] A cabaret-musical inspired by the life story of Jiri Mucha. Premiered on October 23, 2015 at the F.X. Salda Theatre in Liberec. Playwrights: Tomas Jarkovsky and Jakub Vasicek. Director: Jakub Vasicek. Music: Daniel Camsky. Cast: Martin Stransky (Jiri Mucha), Marketa Tallerova (Marta Kadlecikova), Veronika Korytarova (Geraldine Thomsen-Mucha), Anna Schimdtmajerova (Vitezslava Kapralova), Vaclav Helsus (Alfons Mucha), Daniel Camsky (Bohuslav Martinu) and others.
    [14] Mozart in the Jungle is an Amazon produced, award winning television series. Season 3 was first aired on December 9, 2016. Kapralova makes her television debut as a trailblazer character from the past, inspiring the two main heroines, Hailey (Lola Kirke) and Lizzie (Hannah Dunne), to take on new creative challenges.
    [15] Theatre adaptation of Jindrich Uher's pseudo-biographical novel Ona a Martinu. Director: Anna Petrzelkova. Cast: Tereza Mareckova (Vitezslava Kapralova), Dusan Hrebicek (Bohuslav Martinu), Vladimir Hauser (Vaclav Kapral), Ivana Hlouzkova (Vituse Kapralova, Charlotte Martinu), Jan Mansfeld (Ota Vach, Ivan Tondr), Adam Masura (Theodor Schaefer), Tomas Milostny (Rudolf Kopec), Ondrej Kokorsky (Jiri Mucha) and others. With music by Petr Hromadka and a few short excerpts from the music by Bohuslav Martinu and Vitezslava Kapralova. Produced by the Brno Theatre Husa na provazku, premiered in Brno on February 23, 2018.
    [16] The theme comprises eight measures from a 9-measure piano miniature, composed by Kapralova in 1929.
    [17] A production of Horacke divadlo, premiered on September 5, 2020.


    Sources:

    Jindra BARTOVA, "Ach ty moje sladka, poslusna zacko...", Opus Musicum 22, no. 10 (1990): 310-314.
    "Basnici mesta," ProArt Festival 2015 http://www.proart-festival.cz/cz/basnici-mesta/
    Miroslav BARVIK, "Nad pozustalosti Vitezslavy Kapralove," Rytmus 10, no. 2 (1945-1946): 5-7.
    Jiri BERKOVEC, Foreword, in Milos Sokola: Variace na thema Vitezslavy Kapralove pro velky orchestr (Praha: SNKL, 1960), v-vi.
    Tamara BLAHOVA, "Osobnost k nezaplaceni meho regionu: Navrh pametni mince ke stemu vyroci narozeni Vitezslavy Kapralove" (Narodni institut deti a mladeze MSMT, 2012).
    Pavel BLATNY, "Jak jsem komponoval sve 'Podivne lasky'," Opus Musicum 28, no. 1 (1996): 15-16.
    Bohuslav Martinu: Bibliographical Catalogue (Prague: Panton, 1990), 31, 61.
    Bohuslav Martinu: Selected Masterpieces, CD booklet (Prague: The Bohuslav Martinu Foundation, 2001), 39, 57, 63.
    "Composers Concordance: Ladies First," (concert) presented by the Czech Center in New York on 18.5.2012.
    Roman COPPOLA et al., Mozart in the Jungle, a television series produced by Amazon (season 3, episodes 6 and 9).
    Simon CORLEY, "L'élan vital de Martinu," (review), ConcertoNet.com, March 2002.
    Correspondence of Vera Bednarova and Jiri Mucha from 1988, deposited in the Moravian Museum of Brno (shelf no. 89.580/G 3.877).
    Erik ENTWISTLE, Martinu in Paris: A Synthesis of Musical Styles and Symbols, (dissertation) (University of California-Santa Barbara, 2002), 137.
    ____________, Six Variations on a Theme by Vita Kapralova (composition), premiered by Erik Entwistle at the Schein Performance Hall, Sanibel, Florida on 3.3.2018.
    Robert GURDONARK, "Kapralova's Escape," ccmixter.org, 16 October 2005.
    Tereza HAVELKOVA, "Music is about feelings," an interview with Jitka Vlasankova and Lubomir Havlak, Czech Music 5 (1999): 3.
    "Horacke divadlo uvede premieru hry Martinu – Ceska rapsodie Bohuslavova," operaplus.cz, 25.8.2020 https://operaplus.cz/horacke-divadlo-uvede-premieru-hry-martinu-ceska-rapsodie-bohuslavova/
    Ivana HOTARKOVA, Vitezslava Kapralova, Dubnova preludia v kontextu klavirniho dila skladatelky, (thesis) (Brno: JAMU, 1993), 63.
    Tomas JARKOVSKY et al., Jiri Mucha: Carpe Diem, a cabaret musical produced by the F.X. Salda Theatre and premiered in Liberec on 23.10.2015.
    Kapralova's Diary, 5 May 1939, deposited in the Moravian Museum of Brno (shelf no. G 8.123).
    Jan KAPUSTA, "Bohuslav Martinu v roce 1938," Hudebni veda 19, no. 2 (1982): 162-175.
    Miroslav KUBOVY, Vyhrezle hlavy, (exhibition), Regional Museum of Louny, 2003.
    Ludvik KUNDERA, Vaclav Kapral (Brno: Blok, 1968), 59-60, 92-95, 97, 158-65.
    Walter LABHART, Bohuslav Martinu: Kammermusic, (CD booklet) (Koch Records, 1990).
    "Ladies First Project", wix.com, 2012.
    Norman LEBRECHT, "Unsung premiere," Artsjournal.com, 18 November 2009.
    Letter to Karla Hartl from Daniela Kosinova, dated 17 July 2003. Private archive.
    Jiri MACEK, Vitezslava Kapralova (Praha: Kniznice hudebnich rozhledu Svazu cs. skladatelu, 1958), 129-133.
    Martinu's letter to Vitezslava Kapralova, dated 4.11(?) 1938, deposited in the Moravian Museum of Brno (shelf no. G 149).
    Simon MAWER, The Glass Room (New York: Other Press, 2009).
    Jaroslav MIHULE, Bohuslav Martinu: Profil zivota a a dila (Praha: Supraphon 1974), 117.
    Renata MORAN, Malerei zur musik von Vitezslava Kapralova, 2004.
    Jiri MUCHA, Studene slunce (Praha: Ceskoslovensky spisovatel, 1968).
    __________, Most (Praha: Eminent, 1999).
    __________, Podivne lasky (Praha: Mlada fronta, 1988).
    Lubomir MULLER, "Podivne lasky," Opus Musicum 22, no. 5 (1990): xxx-xxxii.
    Alena NEMCOVA, "Vitezslava Kapralova a Jan Novak - dva moravsti zaci Bohuslava Martinu," Opus Musicum 23, no. 6 (1991): 190-193.
    Katerina POSPISILOVA, "Cesta Bohuslava Martinu k obdobi fantazii," in Bohuslav Martinu cesky a svetovy, a collection of papers from the 23rd musicological conference 'Janackiana', Ostrava 3.-4.2.1999, 100-109.
    Ken RUSSELL, The Mystery of Dr. Martinu (television film) (BBC, 1993) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE1qGaF1rJw
    Milos SAFRANEK, Bohuslav Martinu: His Life and Works (London: Allan Wingate, 1962), 178-189.
    __________, Divadlo Bohuslava Martinu (Praha: Editio Supraphon, 1979), 83-85.
    Rhian SAMUEL, "Women's Music: A Twentieth-Century Perspective," in The New Grove Dictionary of Women Composers.
    Jan SCHNEIDER, "Rozpadle knize o Martinu a Kapralove schazi duse," (review), MF Dnes, 11 October 1995, 19.
    Olga SETTARI, "Klavirni dilo Vitezslavy Kapralove" (unpublished paper), 20.
    SPANKEOL, "Vitezslava Kapralova: Her Life and Sound," in Investigations of a dog X Spankeol 2017 (audio recording, track 12).
    Katerina TUCKOVA, Vitka (theatre play), produced by Divadlo "Husa na provazku" and premiered in Brno on 23.2.2018.
    Jndrich UHER, Ona a Martinu (Praha: Cs. Spisovatel, 1995).
    Zdenek ZOUHAR, "Ceske dikce hudebni Bohuslava Martinu ve Francii," Opus Musicum 22, no. 7 (1990): 217-220.
    __________, "Madrigaly Bohuslava Martinu," in Bohuslav Martinu cesky a svetovy, a collection of conference papers from the 23rd musicological conference 'Janackiana', Ostrava, 3.-4.2.1999, 94-99.



    © The Kapralova Society 1998–2023. A list in progress.