Interview with Vitezslava Kapralova (fragment). | Divka hudebni skladatelkou a dirigentkou. Rozhovor s Vitezslavou Kapralovou z Brna. Fragment. Zdroj neurcen, pravdepodobne magazin pro zeny (ca listopad 1936).
"Drnkala jsem na klavir, sotva jsem nan dosahla, ale neznala jsem samozrejme noty. Nikdo se take nenamahal me je naucit. Tatinek byl ve valce, maminka vedla skolu a na mne nebylo kdy, zejmena, kdyz se jeste nevedelo, zda ze mne jednou opravdu neco muzikalniho muze byt. Tony jsem tehdy rozeznavala pouze sluchem, nu, a protoze jsem jinak nemela co hrat, komponovala jsem si leccos podle fantasie. Predevsim jsem zhudebnovala slysene vypraveni z pohadek, hlavne carodejnice a jine strasidelne zjevy. Sbirka se jmenuje "Z mych nejranejsich skladeb", je ovsem urcena pouze pro soukromi, nikoliv pro verejnost, ackoli jedna ze skladeb vysla dokonce tiskem - Na dalekou cestu.. Rozhodne si tyto vecicky prilis necenim. Hledim na to jako na prve pokusy, avsak nekdy se prece jen divim, ze se mi to uz tenkrat darilo. Jenze v nasem oboru neni clovek nikdy zcela spokojen, stale chce pokracovat a snad je to tak dobre. Slozim-li nejakou skladbu k me spokojenosti, tu mne to ovsem tesi, moc tesi, ale velmi brzy mi to uz nestaci a snazim se pracovat dale a lepe..."

Kapralova's Piano Concerto in D minor, Op. 7 | Aside from the Five Compositions for Piano, op. 1, which Kapralova later orchestrated as Suite en miniature for small orchestra, the Piano Concerto in d-minor, op. 7, is her first assured orchestral work of large scale. Full of youthful exuberance and brilliance, combined with exoticism and romantic sentiments, it displays Kapralova's remarkably precocious aptitude as a composer: at only 20, she already shows an impressive command of the orchestra's resources and the traditional concerto form. The piano concerto is well balanced in structure and rich in harmonies, anchored in a post-romantic idiom, and rooted in the modernist tendencies of Czech music during the first half of the 20th century, where folk music holds a strong effect on a unique harmonic language. Centered in the key of d-minor, it is an unpretentious work where nostalgia alternates with frequent hints of late-19th century virtuoso writing, as typified by Saint-Saëns or Anton Rubinstein. Its gestures are bold and simple, with striking melodies and rhythmic clarity, conveying all sides of Kapralova's well-rounded musical personality: passion, humor, energy, lyricism, discipline, and spontaneity. The first movement, marked Allegro entusiastico, deviates from the traditional concerto pattern where the initial movements are often written in a modified sonata form. The main theme in d-minor is first briefly introduced by the orchestra, then the piano solo presents the complete melody. The music is distinguished by its long lyrical lines, alternating between the tutti and the soloist undergoing modulations. The second movement begins with a folk song in Bb-minor with strings and piano solo, treated in canonic form. Dominated by this bittersweet and melancholic folk melody, the entire movement is relatively short, and precedes without break the third and final movement. With its exotic character and high-spirited rhythm, the use of folk music is most evident in the third movement. It follows a rondo form, typical of a traditional concerto. Contrary to the previous movement, the theme is joyful, decorated with virtuosic passages for the soloist. Colored by the use of pentatonic scales, the recurrent section is a dance in contrast with the folk songs of the intermediate sections. The coda recalls the opening dance melody, leading to the ending in D-major. | © Jenny Lin, October 2001

Pisne s orchestrem (Orchestral songs) | The collection (but not the individual songs) is mentioned in a list of works that was attached to a CV prepared by Kapralova at the request of Alois Haba for the 1938 ISCM Festival brochure. The list was sent to Haba in Kapralova's letter dated February 3, 1938. It is possible that the collection was one of the projects that Kapralova later abandoned, since it is never mentioned again in any of her correspondence and lists of works that followed.

Smyccovy kvartet, op. 8 | 1. Con brio. Po kratkem bourlivem uvodu 6 taktu nasleduje hlavni tema s rytmickym pruvodem, ktere konci zvukovou tesnou. Po dvojim uvedeni tematu nastupuje Meno mosso jako vedlejsi myslenka, pruhlednejsiho vyrazu, ktere vyustuje do scherzoviteho Vivace, zastupujiciho zaverecnou myslenku. Po teto exposici nasleduje provedeni, ktere prechazi do reprisy, obvykle stavby. 2. Lento. Ze soloveho tematu ve violoncele se rozvine ctyrhlas, jenz se brzo zuzi, aby pokracoval v hbitych prerusenich pizzikatovymi motivy az do nastupu zpevneho Cantabile. Po opetnych zvukovych tesnach nastupuje zakladni tema. 3. Allegro con variazioni. Tema 3/8 jest obmenovano v sedmi variacich, ponejvice zvukoveho a rytmickeho charakteru. | F.B., Rytmus, IV/9-10, April 1939, p.65.

Three Piano Pieces, op. 9.
Originally several versions of the passacaglia, included a chamber version, existed - it was the 2nd version that was published, under the title Grotesque Passacaglia, after winning the Tempo competition among 24 works submitted. The opus 9 autographs include a third, longer version of Passacaglia entitled Scherzova (Scherzo) passacaglia. It was this version that was included in the opus 9 premiered by Solc. The differences between Grotesque Passacaglia and Scherzo Passacaglia are substantial enough (see further) so that they could be considered independent compositions.
Grotesque passacaglia (123 measures long) and Scherzo Passacaglia (166 measures long) share 114 measures; Grotesque Passacaglia has 9 measures that do not exist in Scherzo Passacaglia; Scherzo Passacaglia, however, has 52 new measures that do not exist in Grotesque Passacaglia. I am indebted to Dr. Veroslav Nemec for the details outlining the major differences between the two passacaglias.

Ukolebavka. Jablko s klina, op. 10 | Ukolebavka v hudebni priloze Evy je komponovana pro stredni zensky hlas. Oznaceni tempa a prednesu: "klidne a proste", vystihuje charakter skladby, jiz vedle toho obestira take nadechem ticheho smutku a resignace. V dusledku toho nemohou byt dynamicke kontrasty prilis velike a vyrazovy vzruch musi se stlumit vzdy do zakladni nalady proste ukolebavky. / Vsechny osminy v hlavnim doprovodu, ktere jsou vazany obloucky, hraji se velmi jemne a lehce na rozdil od melodie, ktera je zpravidla nesena ve ctvrtkach a predpoklada ponekud vyraznejsi prednes, zvlaste ve stredni casti skladby a jejim zaveru. | Eva, 15.12.1936, IX/4, p. 25.

April Preludes were arranged as a piano trio in 1976 by Josef Ceremuga [b.Ostrava 14 June 1920-d.Prague 6 May 2005].

Occassional compositions. | Folk songs: Ach synku, synku; Tece voda tece; Bodaj by vas vy mladenci; Nechod Janku pres Polianku.

Suita Rustica, op. 19 | Folk songs: The following folk songs are quoted in the suite: "Preletel slavycek pres Javornycek" [The nightingale flew over Javornycek], "Ciaze je to rolicka nezorana" [Whose is it, this unploughed little field], "Mela jsem holubka v truhle schovaneho a on mi vyletel do pole sireho" [I had a little pigeon hidden in my wooden trunk and he flew away into the fields] "Sedlak, sedlak" [Farmer, farmer] [furiant], "Esce me nemas, hopaj, supaj" [You don't have me yet], "Vysoko zornicka, dobru noc Anicka" [Good night Ann, the evening star is high in the sky], "Vandrovali hudci" [Wandering pipers], "Bude vojna, bude" [There will be a war].

Sonatina for violin and piano. Most likely unfinished, this work was mentioned in Kapralova's letters to parents dated 18.5.1939 and 20.5.1939.

Prélude de Noël. The recording was made on 22.12.1939 at the Jean Masson Studio, 22 rue Bayard, Paris, with Kapralova conducting.

Opus 24: Czech oratorio (Ceske oratorium) ? Mentioned in Kapralova's letter to Rudolf Kopec, dated 19.1.1939. Or - Landscapes (Krajiny), for orchestra? Mentioned in her letter to parents, dated 31.3.1940.

Authors of texts to Kapralova's songs (in the songs' chronological order):

Neruda, Jan. "Maticce." In: Kniha versu. Praha, 1867.
Bojko, R. "Jitro." In: Proste kvety. Praha: Kvasnicka & Hampl, 1924.
Bojko, R. "Osirely." In: Proste kvety. Praha: Kvasnicka & Hampl, 1924.
Jelinek, Bohdan. "V upominkach." In: Snehova ruze. 3rd edition. Praha: Prace, 1948 (previous editons: 1880, 1926).
Jelinek, Bohdan. "Snehova ruze." In: Snehova ruze. 3rd edition. Praha: Prace, 1948 (1880, 1926).
Nezval, Vitezslav. "Leden." In: Zpatecni listek. Praha, 1932.
Seifert, Jaroslav. "Pisen na vrbovou pistalku." Jablko s klina. Praha: F.J. Müller, 1933.
Seifert, Jaroslav. "Matka a dite." Jablko s klina. Praha: F.J. Müller, 1933.
Seifert, Jaroslav. "Bezvetri." Jablko s klina. Praha: F.J. Müller, 1933.
Seifert, Jaroslav. "Jarni pout." Jablko s klina. Praha: F.J. Müller, 1933.
Carek, Jan. "Navzdy." In: Hvezdy na nebi. Praha: Druzstevni prace, 1934.
Carek, Jan. "Cim je muj zal." In: Hvezdy na nebi. Praha: Druzstevni prace, 1934.
Seifert, Jaroslav. "Ruce." Jablko s klina. Praha: F.J. Müller, 1933.
Nezval, Vitezslav. "Sbohem a satecek." In: Sbohem a satecek. Praha, 1934.
Podjavorinska, L'udmila. "Lesna panna." In: Balady. Praha: L.Mazac, 1931.
"Nevdas se!" In: Prikryl, Ondrej. Hanacke pesnicke. Prostejov, 1936.
Seifert, Jaroslav. "Pisen." Postovni holub. Praha: Plejada, 1929.
Hora, Josef. Kdyz straze sve cas vymenuje. Praha: Melantrich, 1937.
Sramek, Frana. "Velikonoce." In: Nove basne. 2nd edition. Praha: Fr. Borovy, 1940 (1st edition in 1928).
Velkoborsky, Frana. "Pisen nedozniva." 1928?
Carek, Jan. "Rodny kraj." In: Hvezdy na nebi. Praha: Druzstevni prace, 1934.
"Koleda milostna. In: Susil, Frantisek. Moravske narodni pisne. 4th(?) edition. Praha: Vysehrad, 1951 (previous editions: 1935, 1840, 1860)
Nezval, Vitezslav. Karlu Capkovi. Praha, 1939.
Carek, Jan. "V zemi ceske." In: V zemi ceske. 2nd edition. Praha: Novina, 1942.
Kripner, Viktor. "Pisen tve nepritomnosti." In: Zpivano do dalky. Praha: Fr. Borovy, 1938.
Kripner, Viktor. "Polohlasem." In: Zpivano do dalky. Praha: Fr. Borovy, 1938.
Kripner, Viktor. "Ticho." In: Zpivano do dalky. Praha: Fr. Borovy, 1938.
Kricka, Petr. "Vy 'ne' jste rekla." In: Hoch s lukem. 1924.