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Turnovský s FOK. Recenze koncertu 5. 5. 2010
[…] Málo uvádený Klavírní koncert d moll op. 7 Vítezslavy Kaprálové byl v letošní koncertní sezóne príjemným dramaturgickým zpestrením. Kaprálová komponovala tento koncert jako svou absolventskou práci, jíž uzavrela r. 1935 studium na brnenské konzervatori. Prestože jí bylo tehdy pouhých 20 let a nemela témer žádné zkušenosti s orchestrální instrumentací, vytvorila osobité dílo, které už pri prvním provedení vzbudilo mimorádný ohlas. Orchestrální složka je prekvapive suverénní a neobycejne barvitá, klavírní part je napsán s obdivuhodným nadhledem i se smyslem pro efekt. Nesmírne zajímave pak pusobí samotný hudební jazyk mladé skladatelky: v první vete – jakkoli originálne ztvárnené – nelze preslechnout silný vliv romantických klavírních koncertu. Druhá veta je necekane krátká, témer delá dojem, jako by ji skladatelka chtela mít co nejdrív za sebou, aby se mohla pustit se do neceho nového. Finální veta pak prekvapí naprosto novou hudební recí, v níž dominuje inspirace hravým neoklasicismem. Sólového partu se ujal Tomáš Víšek – a jen težko si lze predstavit interpreta povolanejšího. Byl nejen dokonale technicky pripravený, ale predevším hrál s obrovským zaujetím a se zjevným potešením. Jeho podání tohoto Koncertu je možné v jistém slova smyslu považovat za ideální. Nemenší zásluhu na pusobivém vyznení díla mel samozrejme i orchestr, který se nespokojil s rolí „pouhého“ doprovodu, ale byl sólistovi rovnocenným a velmi inspirativním partnerem. […]
From a concert review by Veroslav Nemec for www.fok.cz/recenze-fok, May 14, 2010

Záver letošní sezóny u Pražských symfoniku. Koncert 5.5. 2010
[…] Následující skladbou byl Klavírní koncert d moll, op. 7, Vítezslavy Kaprálové. Svou první orchestrální kompozicí skladatelka prokázala, že umení instrumentace ve svých dvaceti letech zvládla velmi dobre, v první vete mne zaujala kombinace zvuku klavíru, smyccu a bicích nástroju (tympány, cinely, triangl), ve druhé vete pocátecní fugato. Tretí veta je až rozmarne veselá, casto se v ní strídají tempa a ústí v mohutné finále. O prestávce jsem mezi návštevníky zaslechl nekolik nadšených ohlasu. Vynikajícím interpretem pomerne nárocného klavírního partu byl Tomáš Víšek, jenž se provádení moderní hudby venuje systematicky.
From a concert review by Pavel Šimácek, Opera plus, May 11, 2010

Silenced Voices. Northeastern Records (1992).
I have owned this CD for about 10 years and it always saddens me to realize that two of the three composers represented here were killed by the Nazis during the Holocaust, and the third probably would not have died but for the war. What a loss. […] The whole recording is wonderful and should be required listening for those who like 20th century chamber music.
From a review by Bryan Ness, for necessarymusic.blogspot.com, posted on February 20, 2010

Skampa Quartet at the Sage. Beethoven, Kapralova, Debussy.
[..] It was the String Quartet (Op.8) of Vitezslava Kapralova which provided the greatest interest of the evening and was given a fine and fully committed performance which drew an enthusiastic and appreciative response from the large audience.
From a review by Graham Melville-Mason for the Dvorak Society for Czech and Slovak Music Newsletter, 90 (January 2010): 16.

Martinu and the Czech Tradition. The Helios Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Owen Leech, with Tomas Klement as soloist.
[..] The program then took us [..] to the doom-laden yer 1939 and Vitezslava Kapralova's Partita for piano and string orchestra op. 20, in its UK premiere. The two outer movements are extraordinarily lively and dramatic, the second is contemplative, with descending strings, expressing perhaps the composer's grief at the fate of her country. [...] Czechs are fortunate [..] to have been born in a country that inspires such deep attachments and produces composers of such high rank to express them. The pianist Tomas Klement [..] showed his prowess in the way he mastered the tricky rhythms in the Kapralova piece.
From a review by Marian Werner for the Dvorak Society for Czech and Slovak Music Newsletter, 90 (January 2010): 11-12.

Women of Firsts: Art Songs by the First Important Twentieth Century Women Composers from the Czech Republic, Poland, United States, and France. Daniel Weeks, tenor; Naomi Oliphant, piano. Centaur CRC 2966.
The three-song set Navzdy recalls the finest vocal music of Janacek with its powerful expressionism and bracing contrasts and colors. There is also more than a hint of impressionism, although delivered in the bolder, flamboyant colors of a Ravel. Ultimately, the voice is the composer's own, with nothing particularly feminine about it. The first song has an uneasy eeriness, while the second boils with insistent fervency. The last is a memorable evocation of a passionate wedding night, crowned by a surging high A that draws the set to a thrilling climax. More than anything, these songs leave us hungry to know more of this woman's music.
From a review by Gregory Berg for the Journal of Singing, vol.66, no. 2 (November/December 2009)

Premiere of the Fortnight
It's been a long time since a composer has really entered the public consciousness and become a big name - she could have been the one.
From a preview (author unknown) written for the Classical Music Magazine, 7 November 2009.

Feminissimo! Women Playing Music by Women. Albany Records, Troy 1081 (2008)
Feminissimo! features nine compositions by women composers, including four not previously recorded. [...] The haunting Bracha by Meira Warshauer, makes a felicitous opening to the disc. [...] Other lyrical beauties on the recording are the Elegie by Vitezslava Kapralova (1915-1940), supported by a dense accompaniment of dissonant chords...
From a review by Nadine Sine for the IAWM Journal 2 (Fall 2009).

Simon Mawer. The Glass Room. New York: Other Press, 2009.
Author's Note: [...] 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.

Unsung premiere
Simon Mawer's reflective novel The Glass Room, shortlisted for the Man Booker prize and one of my reads of the year, digresses midway into a sub-story about a shortlived composer. Vitezslava Kapralova, born in 1915 in Janacek's town, Brno, was a star pupil of the conductor Vaclav Talich and, in Paris, of the composer Bohuslav Martinu, whose lover she became (Martinu, though married, had two or three long-term liaisons, but that's another story). In 1937, Kapralova conducted the Czech Philharmonic and, a year later, the BBC Symphony Orchestra in her own Military Sinfonietta. She married Jiri Mucha, the Jugendstil painter's son in April 1940 and, forced to flee Paris after the German invasion, died of tuberculosis in Montpellier two months later, aged 25. Her music, edgy and mildly adventurous, fell into disuse. The only CD recording appeared last year on Koch. There is, however, a rare chance to hear her Partita for piano and string orchestra live in Marylebone, London, tomorrow night (Helios Chamber Orchestra), and her string quartet in Gateshead next week (Skampa Quartet). The first is a UK premiere. Kapralova's is a singular voice, precocious and secure. If you admired Mawer's novel as much as I did you will want to investigate its unofficial soundtrack.
Norman Lebrecht for artsjournal.com, November 18, 2009. Released under the Creative Commons Licence.

Feminissimo! Women Playing Music by Women. Laura Kobayashi, violin; Susan Keith Gray, piano. (Albany 1081)
[..] The chromatic, lustrous beauty of Czech Vitezslava Kapralova's Elegie (1939) is a joy, all the more poignant because the composer died the year after composing it, at the age of 25.
From a review by Catherine Nelson for The Strad, June 2009, 87.

Hudebni forum z Brna s Janem Hlavacem, Cesky rozhlas 3 Vltava, 18. tyden.
Uvodni porad patril Vitezslave Kapralove a jeji rane Sonate Appassionate pro klavir. Skladba z roku 1933 mela premieru o rok pozdeji v sale Konzervatore Brno v podani Frantiska Jilka a pote nadlouho zmizela. I proto nove objevenou, roku 2006 nakladatelstvím Amos zrekonstruovanou "mezeru" jiste oceni nejen fandove jednoho z nejpronikavejsich talentu nasi hudby. Sympaticka byla pritomnost interpretky Alice Rajnohove, ostatne slovo interpreta by melo byt v pocinech tohoto typu vzdycky standardem. Kdo nekdy absolvoval skladatelsky vecer konzervatore, dokaze si mozna zive predstavit tehdejsi udiv nad ani ne osmnactiletym stvorenim, ktere se znicehonic predstavi ctvrthodinovou, napady naditou porci tonu, ktere - svete div se - dokazi svoje emoce udrzet na uzde, vsechno nevyzvanit a jeste vzbudit zvedavost. I kdyz uvodni Appassionato az prilis kotvi v romanticke klavirni sazbe, tu a tam prosvitne lakava souzvukova "pridrzlost," ktera je do uvedomele slohove studie vpasovana. Zato druha veta Tema s variacemi svou pikantni a menlivou klavirni sazbou v leccems pripomina jiz vrcholne skladby sve autorky, zejmena Dubnova preludia a Variace na zvony kostela St-Etienne du Mont. Uvazime-li, ze dilo vzniklo roku 1933 (v prazskem skladatelskem cechu obvykle mrtvolno) a neboji se koketovat s atonalitou, polytonalni dvojznacnosti...
Zkratka a dobre, puvodne jsem se bal, ze pujde o dalsi pravem zapomenutou juvenilii, ktera pouze dotvari tu cast obrazu o svem tvurci, jez mela zustat utajena. I tak jsem byl pripraven vyslechnout ji z ciste humanitarnich duvodu. Po absolvovani intenzivni naloze od sotva osmnactilete damy - s udajne krasne proriznutou pusou - jsem uz radeji zticha...
Z recenze Lukase Sommera pro A Tempo Revue, May 5, 2009.

Vitezka Kapralova - skladatelka appassionata
Cesky rozhlas zaplnuje bila mista v historii ceske hudby. Tesne pred pulnoci v pondeli 27.4. prichystalo Hudební forum z Brna v prvnim z cyklu ctyr veceru o zenskych skladatelkach jeden hudebni zapomenuty skvost ceske moderny - Sonatu appassionatu pro klavir (Opus c. 6) Vitezslavy Kapralove, jiz talentovaná skladatelka slozila ve svych 18 letech. A hned ve dvou premierovych provedenich ke srovnani, jednak ve svetove premiere od americke klaviristky Virginie Eskin, ktera v lonskem roce vydala u vydavatelstvi Koch International Classics vybor z Kapralove del, a jednak druhe - ceske - obnovene premiere v podani Alice Rajnohove, ktera popisuje setkani se sonatou jako zjeveni a objevne prekvapeni.
Obdobi mezivalecne a valecne bylo trpkym svedkem predcasnych a nenavratnych odchodu mnoha nadejnych skladatelskych osobnosti a mezi nimi rozhodne nezapada skladatelka a dirigentka Vitezslava Kapralova (1915-1940), ktera dokonce za svuj kratky zivot slozila vice del nez kuprikladu Leo Smit, Jehan Alain, Hugo Distler aj. [...] Mezi jeji nejznamejsi dilo patri Vojenska symfonieta [.. ], osobitymi dily jsou klavirni Variace na zvonkohru Saint-Etienne du Mont, op. 16 (1938) nebo Dubnova preludia (Allegro ma non troppo, Andante, Andante semplice a Vivo), jez venovala klaviristovi Rudolfu Firkusnemu. Vrcholem tvorby jsou pak Dva ritornely pro violoncello a klavir, ale nepochybne i zminena Sonata appassionata.
Ze zpravy Milus Kotisove pro Gitu (genderovou informacni a tiskovou agenturu), April 29, 2009.

Laura Kobayashi: FEMINISSIMO! WOMEN PLAYING MUSIC BY WOMEN on ALBANY.
[...] Vitezslava Kapralova (1915-1940), daughter of Czech composer Vaclav Kapral and student of Martinu, died of tuberculosis. Her Elegie, one of the most richly expressive pieces in the collection, gives an all-too-brief glimpse of the composer’s ardent melodic and varied harmonic style. [...] Kobayashi and Gray successfully span the variety of styles the program offers, playing the older, drawing-room pieces with glowing sound and moist sensibility and slashing sharply in the more modern ones. Recommended more widely than to those who simply wish to explore music written by women.
From a review by Robert Maxham for Fanfare, (Classical Reviews), April 2, 2009.

Feminissimo! Women Playing Music by Women. Laura Kobayashi, violin; Susan Keith Gray, piano. (Albany 1081)
The collaboration, balance, and dynamic of the two musicians are a joy to hear...
From a review by Heather K. Scott for Strings Magazine, No. 168, April 2009.

In women's program, pianist takes center stage
"Ferocious Beauty" was the title of Friday's concert by the Chamber Orchestra of Boston, and it was intended to celebrate "strong, powerful women in music." [...] [Eskin] and the 14-member string ensemble opened with "Partita" by Vítezslava Kaprálová. [...] "Partita" is written in a traditional tonal language shot through with striking dissonances, somewhat reminiscent of Hindemith. It's constructed like a Baroque concerto, with piano and strings in a back-and-forth dialogue. The outer movements are driven, with a strong sense of contrapuntal movement. The central slow movement is dreamy and reflective, with darker forces threatening to steal in and disturb the hard-won calm. This was the East Coast premiere of the piece, and it is eminently worth hearing again. [...]
From a review by David Weininger, The Boston Globe, February 9, 2009.

"Ferocious Beauty" Offers Powerful Discoveries. Chamber Orchestra of Boston, directed by David Feltner, with Virginia Eskin, piano. Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, Boston, February 6, 2009.
It was an event of very rare importance - the first performance on the east coast of a remarkable work composed in 1939. Czech composer Vitezslava Kapralova died at the age of 25 barely a year after completing the work. Her Partita for Piano and Strings should place her in the musical firmament near Bartok and Stravinsky.
The first movement, Allegro energetico, is full of neo-classical drive and ceaseless motion. Soloist Virginia Eskin pulled spiky tones from the piano in the brusque ritornello that frames and supports the work, with the piano and strings exchanging jabs. In the central section the piano brought warmth and luscious waves of sound, painting a wash over the orchestra's ongoing rhythmic energy.
The Andantino opens with a theme of striking simplicity and intense tenderness. The warmth and intensity of the harmonies of this movement are evocative, and the musical language could be that of a highly popular contemporary film score. The long sequence of gestures that descend in pitch give a feeling of ethereal floating, suspended and timeless. A gentle cascade of chords closes that passage, and brings us back to the original simple melody. It is all of such heart-wrenching and sincere emotion that once word of this piece gets out, I see it as becoming a classical "greatest hit." The Presto, of course, is sparkling and playful, with interior sections of grace and delicacy, and ending with bold and majestic flourishes.
From a review by Liane Curtis, posted on wophil.blogspot.com on February 8, 2009.

Virginia Eskin: KAPRALOVA April Preludes. Legend... on KOCH
[...] The program opens with one of her most distinctive efforts, the April Preludes of 1937. These four brief but eventful statements display a fleeting sure-footed appeal and subtle harmonic colorings that clearly indicate she had begun to absorb more cosmopolitan elements into her essential Slavic idiom. An even later work - the 1938 Variations on the Carillon of St. Etienne-du-Mont Church - demonstrates enormous skill in elucidating and exploiting the dramatic and expressive potential of a rather pedestrian and unpromising idea. The largest work here is a remarkable product of her 18th year, the ambitious 1933 Sonata appassionata, consisting of two big movements - a surging, roiling Maestoso followed by a cogent series of contrasting variations on a folk-like motif whose scope and diversity approach the symphonic. In fact, this could have served as the germ for a powerful orchestral opus. [...] The enterprising American pianist Virginia Eskin, who has recorded a measure of unusual repertoire in the past, gives this music the level of conviction and advocacy it deserves, and Stephanie Chase is an able collaborator. Recording quality and annotation are exemplary, but the absence of any timings is regrettable.
From a review by Paul A. Snook for Fanfare Magazine, Nov/Dec. 2008.

KAPRALOVA: Violin & Piano Pieces. Virginia Eskin, p; Stephanie Chase, v. Koch 7742 - 64 minutes.
[...] The piano and violin-and-piano music here is richly melodic, highly chromatic, and bursting with invention. [...] Most striking are the slow pieces, especially the achingly gorgeous 'Legend' and the somber but soaring 'Elegy', both for violin and piano. Virginia Eskin and Stephanie Chase play with passion and sensitivity [...]. This is a welcome release.
From a review by Jack SULLIVAN for American Record Guide, Nov/Dec. 2008.

Vitezslava Kapralova: Works for Piano and for Violin and Piano. Stephanie Chase, violin; Virginia Eskin, piano (KOCH 7742)
Kapralova’s music displays a remarkable mastery of form and harmony, and radiates youthful spontaneity, lyrical tenderness, and passionate intensity.
From a review by Edith Eisler for Strings Magazine, November 25, 2008.

Vitezslava KAPRALOVA. Virginia Eskin, klavir a Stephanie Chase, housle. KOCH RECORDS, KIC-CD-7742
It is not so long ago that Vitezslava Kapralova (1915-1940) was remembered only for her intimate association with Bohuslav Martinu and a tragically short life. Her music was not only sporadically performed but also seemed to be destined to fall into oblivion. The fact that today Kapralova is considered one of the most remarkable Czech musical personalities of the first half of the twentieth-century has much to do with the invaluable and relentless efforts of the Kapralova Society to make the composer's legacy available to the music loving public. Since its inception ten years ago, the Society initiated and supported a great number of interesting projects that have been instrumental in rediscovering Kapralova's considerable worth as a composer. The most important among them are the Kapralova Edition, an initiative to publish in print Kapralova's works (often in their first edition), and the profile recordings of Kapralova's music.
Following the "discovery" profile CDs of Studio Matous (Vitezslava Kapralova: Portrait of a Composer, 1998) and Supraphon (Forever Kapralova: Songs, 2003), another Kapralova-dedicated title, this time from the American label Koch International Classics, has been just added to the Kapralova Catalog. This new profile CD offers a representative selection of Kapralova's piano works and complete output of her music for violin and piano. All but one work featured on the disc are first recordings.
One of the surprises of this valuable disc is Kapralova's first opus, Five Compositions for Piano, composed during her studies at the Brno Conservatory. It is incredibly mature, with the composer's unique musical diction already present. In fact, I consider the closing piece of the cycle - "Funeral March" - to be one of the most remarkable compositions featured on the disc. Another work from the period is the outstanding Sonata Appassionata op. 6. The two-movement composition is remarkable not only for its abundance of original ideas but also for the masterly development of its form. While the first movement is in passionately conceived sonata form, the second is a cycle of variations that culminates in a grandiose fugue. Kapralova's impressionistic April Preludes op. 13 reflect the influence of Novak and Janacek; in her imaginative piano Variations sur le Carillon de l'Eglise St-Etienne du Mont op. 16 one can occasionally detect elements of the musical palette of Bohuslav Martinu.
Kapralova had a natural affinity for the piano, and she continued writing for it throughout her life. In contrast, she wrote only three works for violin: Legend and Burlesque op. 3 were composed when she was still a student at the Brno Conservatory, while Elegy from 1939, dedicated to the memory of Karel Capek, is one of her last works. All three compositions are highly effective, with Burlesque being the most interesting of the three (it was also published during the composer's lifetime).
Kapralova's music on the Koch CD is interpreted by two renowned American artists - the pianist Virginia Eskin and violinist Stephanie Chase. As Kapralova's compositions are often technically demanding and pose various interpretative challenges, they should be rendered by highly experienced performers who are in full command of their technical and expressive skills. Both Eskin's and Chase's performances clearly demonstrate that they are entirely up to this challenge: not only are these performers equipped with superb technique but they are also able to interpret the music with a sensitivity that underscores the hallmarks of Kapralova's compositions - the abundance of creative ideas, extraordinary sensitivity, delicate colours, and logical, rational organization of the musical material. Excellent liner notes written by Karla Hartl, so comprehensive and compact that they read as a miniature monograph, add to the attractiveness of this release. I have no doubt that it will not only please Kapralova enthusiasts but also add many others to her following.
Review by Veroslav Nemec for Czech Music Quarterly and the IAWM Journal (Fall 2008). Reprinted with the author's permission.

Vitezslava Kapralova 1915-1940. Utwory na fortepian oraz skrzypce i fortepian.
[...] Gdy slucha sie Pieciu utworov na fortepian op. 1, z ktorych czesc wyszly spod reki szesnastolatki, uderza nie tylko dojrzalosc formy, ale tez niezwykle dla podlotka skupienie i oszczednosc wyrazu [..] jest to glos indywidualny i oryginalny. [...] Najbardziej monumentalne z nagranych na omawianym krazku dziel stanowi Sonata appassionata, op. 6, ktora osiemnastolatka naszkicowala z rozmachem - widac tu zaciecie wirtuozowskie typowe dla mlodych kompozytorow-pianistow, ale takze proby wyksztalcenia bardziej indywidualnego jezyka harmonicznego, przy wciaz czytelnym odwolywaniu sie do rodzimego melosu. Kontynuacja tych poszukiwan sa dziela powstale podczas studiow w Pradze, stanowiace synteze muzycznego impresjonizmu i ekspresjonizmu, zwlaszcza oryginalne Preludia kwietniowe, op.13, ktore wykonywal potem Rudolf Firkusny. Wresczie mamy na plycie dziela ostatnie, napisane juz we Francji: Wariacje n.t. carillonu kosciola St. Etienne du Mont, op. 16, utwor prawdziwie uz mistrzowski [..].
From a review by Marcin Zglinski for Muzyka21, 10 (2008): 45.

Vitezslava Kapralova: April Preludes, Legend, Burlesque, Five compositions for Piano, Elegy, Sonata Appassionata, Carillon Variations. Virginia Eskin, piano, Stephanie Chase, violin. 2008 KOCH Entertainment LP. Manufactured and Distributed by KOCH International Classic A KOCH Entertainment Company. Made in U.S.A.
Anglictina v predchozich radcich neni projevem dnes konjukturalniho anglo-ceskeho vyjadrovani, nybrz dokladem neceho mnohem sympatictejsiho: pronikani ceske kultury do povedomi kulturniho sveta. Jedno z nejvetsich vydavatelstvi v USA - Koch Records, puvodne americka odnoz stejnojmenneho rakouskeho vydavatelstvi, ktera se zcela osamostatnila a vlastni obrovskou distribucni sit po celych Spojenych statech - totiz letos vydalo CD venovane klavirnim a houslovym skladbam Vitezslavy Kapralove v excelentnich nahravkach klaviristky Virginie Eskin z Bostonu a houslistky Stephanie Chase z New Yorku, ktere ma vzhledem ke vsem uvedenym okolnostem velkou sanci prispet k zakotveni dila Kapralove v sirsich posluchacskych kruzich.
O tento pozoruhodny a vysostne chvalyhodny pocin se zaslouzila Spolecnost Vitezslavy Kapralove (The Kapralova Society), sidlici v kanadskem Torontu, a jmenovite jeji predsedkyne Mgr. Karla Hartlova, absolventka Univerzity Karlovy a Univerzity v Torontu, ktera je iniciatorkou a hybatelkou vsech akci, jez spolecnost uskutecnuje. Neni jich malo: pripomenme alespon premierova uvadeni del Kapralove, jimz vloni vevodila puvodni premiera kantaty Ilena na JAMU v Brne, vydavani skladeb autorky tiskem (vedle Concertina a Ritornelu, jez vydal Bärenreiter, vysly tez autorciny prvni kompozicni pokusy, pisen Leden pro hlas, fletnu, dvoje housle, violoncello a klavir i souborne pisnove dilo - to vse ve vzorovem cesko-anglickem vydani v edici Amos). Z cinnosti Spolecnosti nelze neuvest pravidelne vydavani The Kapralova Society Journal s originalnimi prispevky z pera svetovych muzikologu a s vycerpavajici dokumentaci tvorby Kapralove (Mgr. Hartlova v ni postupuje den po dni a ke vsemu dokaze nalezt patricnou dokumentaci: takovou pramennou zakladnu nema lecktery z nejvetsich svetovych autoru!). K temto aktivitam se radi tez vydavani CD s dilem Vitezslavy Kapralove. Dosud vysel za prispeni The Kapralova Society Portret skladatelky v Editio Matous a komplet pisni v Supraphonu. Nyni tedy poprve pristupuje i zahranicni vydavatelstvi s nahravkami housloveho a klavirniho dila Kapralove.
Vytvarne je CD ladeno bilo-modre, s peknou fotografii Vitulky na zadni strane bookletu, ktery obsahuje podrobny a vystizny komentar k nahranym dilum, opet z pera Karly Hartlove. Kapralova je reprezentovana tvorbou z let 1931-32 (Pet skladeb pro klavir op. 1) az 1938 (Variace na zvony kostela v St. Étienne du Mont), pricemz posledni kraticka skladba na zaver je dokonalym "dorecením" celku: Písnicka pro klavir z roku 1936 je jakymsi "koncentratem" hudebniho mysleni Kapralove a soucasne i vzdalenym odkazem k Bohuslavu Martinu, ktery Kapralovou nejradeji a nejcasteji oslovoval Pisnicko.
Dilo Vitezslavy Kapralove nahraly dve americke umelkyne. Virginia Eskin je pianistka venujici se prevazne tvorbe dvacateho stoleti, ale nejen ji. K ceske hudbe ma vyhraneny vztah - hraje velmi rada Dvoraka a natocila mimo jiné i dila skladatelu z Terezina. Houslistka Stephanie Chase zacinala jako zazracne dite (hrala udajne uz ve dvou letech) a jeji siroky repertoar sahajici od baroka po 21. stoleti tomu odpovida. Obe zaslouzi za nahravku dila Kapralove nejvyssi uznani: dokonala technicka uroven se na ni snoubi s hlubokym prozitkem a velkou imaginaci.
Review by Jindra Bartova for Opus Musicum 4 (October 2008). Reprinted with the author's permission.

Vitezslava Kapralova
KOCH INTERNATIONAL KIC-CD-7742
Pianiste Virginia Eskin wijdt haar nieuwste cd aan nooit eerder uitgebrachte muziek van Vitezslava Kapralova. Behalve dan 'April Preludes', dat drieste vierdelige werk waarmee het programma opent. De ongebondenheid en de bezieling die meteen aan de dag treden is kenmerkend voor Kapralova's totale oeuvre. Deels geschreven nog aan het conservatorium van Brno waar ze als 16-jarige al de beste van haar generatie was en beloond werd met een beurs om naar Parijs te gaan. Daar was ook haar landgenoot de componist Bohuslav Martinu, die een groot bewonderaar en pleitbezorger van haar en haar muziek werd. Deuren openden zich als vanzelf voor de excentrieke Tsjechische die een geweldige netwerker was en op haar 23ste in London voor het BBC-Orchestra haar eigen symfonie dirigeerde. Helaas, amper twee jaar later overleed ze in 1940 aan tuberculose. Veertig werken liet ze na en die zijn het waard om ontdekt te worden.
Kapralova's muzikale taal is zuiver en rijk. Ze ontdekte wegen om van zware materie aangename kost te maken. Ze goochelt met bliksemachtige explosies, speelse loopjes en stralende kleuren. Impressionistisch plus expressionistisch. In de Amerikaanse musici, pianiste Virginia Eskin en violiste Stephanie Chase vond Kapralova prima vertolkers van haar muziek. Een cd die in elke klassieke collectie hoort; die op de repeat knop kan blijven staan!
By Patricia Werner Leanse for OPZIJ (October 2008). Printed with the author's permission.

Virginia Eskin Records Works of a Talented But Neglected Czech Composer Who Died Young.
Vitezslava Kaprálová, Virginia Eskin, piano, Stephanie Chase, violin, Koch International Classics, © 2008, KIC-CD-7742, 64:44.
Kaprálová was developing an increasingly distinctive style as the 1930s progressed, but even the earliest pieces played here, the "Five Compositions for Piano", Op. 1, reveal an individual personality. The piano writing is very assured, the composer has obvious lyrical and melodic gifts, and there is variety among the five pieces. They come out of the rich 19th-century Czech tradition of small character pieces for piano, but never lapse into sentimentality. The CD opens with the strongest of Kaprálová’s works, four "April Preludes", Op. 13, brief pieces that manage to sound both impulsive and substantial. I particularly enjoy the simple, Russian-sounding No. 3 and the Scriabinesque abandon of the first prelude’s opening. [...] "Legend" and "Burlesque" for violin and piano from 1932, are charming pieces, free-flowing and rather subtle. The wispy "Elegy", from 1939, veers further away from conventional tonality. [...] The 2-movement "Sonata Appassionata," Op. 6, like so many neo-Romantic efforts in sonata form, is a bit contrived. The second movement is a busy set of variations on a sing-songy theme. A perfunctory fugal variation comes right in the middle where one expects it. Eskin’s performance is dynamic and meets the technical challenges of this virtuosic but formula-bound work. The "Variations sur le Carillon de l’Eglise Saint-Etienne-du-Mont", Op. 16, inspired by the bells of the Paris church, is far more interesting. The theme is mysterious, not nearly as square in its construction as that of the sonata’s second movement and it seems to invite the exploration that the variations provide. The piano writing shows great sensitivity to timbre and the harmony is adventurous. Overall, this recording has great value. It introduces listeners to the beautiful music of an overlooked composer in fine performances.
From a review by Paul Orgel for the Classical Voice of New England, October 2008.

CD Review. Vitezslava Kapralova. Koch Records 2008
This comes as a very valuable addition to the select Kaprálová discography. Tragically short-lived though she was, the Moravian composer left behind more than mere markers of potential greatness. [...] The performances of this too-little known music are terrifically engaging. The notes by Karla Hartl are just right as well. Add this to your select discography of a composer whose early death deprived Czechoslovakia of a burgeoning talent.
By Jonathan Woolf for MusicWeb.uk, August 2008

The Music of Vitezslava Kapralova
[Her] musical language is surprisingly mature and well crafted [....] [and] sounds to be equal parts of early Bartok, pre-atonality Berg, and of course Janacek. Each piece is remarkably expressive (of course it helps that the performers here are so wonderfully expressive as well) with equal amounts of moribund and ponderous music balanced by spunky and fiery compositions.
From a review by Jay Batzner for Sequenza21.com, August 14, 2008.