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The Kapralova Companion. Lexington Books, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7391-6723-6 (cloth)—ISBN 978-0-7391-6724-3 (electronic)
Vitezslava Kapralova was a remarkable personality, a gifted composer-conductor who died much too young. But so did Keats, Schubert, and even Otis Redding. Once we get over how young she was, there is her music and artistic activity to consider. This volume is a splendid introduction to her life and work, by the leading specialists in the field. Hopefully it will be the first of many volumes dealing with her life and music.
Michael Beckerman, amazon.com

Vítezslava Kaprálová
Klavírní koncert d moll, op. 7*, Tri klavírní kusy, op. 9, Variations sur le carillon de l’église St-Étienne du Mont, op. 16, Sonata Appassionata, op. 6. Alice Rajnohová – klavír, *Filharmonie Bohuslava Martinu, dirigent Tomáš Hanus. Produkce: neuvedeno. Text: C, A. Nahráno: Klavírní koncert (live) 11/2010, Dum umení, Zlín, ostatní skladby 6/2011, Kongresové centrum, Zlín. Vydáno: 2011. TT: 53:32. DDD. 1 CD Radioservis CRO577-2.

Reprezentativní výber z klavírní tvorby nejzajímavejší ceské skladatelky první poloviny 20. století zahajuje Klavírní koncert d moll, op. 7, jímž dvacetiletá Kaprálová absolvovala r. 1935 brnenskou konzervator. [...] Klavírní koncert hraje Alice Rajnohová s mimorádným elánem a pochopením, takže pri její hre nelze nepomyslet na dvacetiletou skladatelku, plnou energie a chuti do života. První veta hýrí takovou spoustou nápadu – kompozicních i interpretacních – a deje se v ní toho tolik, až máme dojem, že se jedná o filmovou hudbu. Volná veta prekvapí svou strucností a potemnelostí, která tvorí skvelý kontrast k hravé a pritom rytmicky strhující vete finální. Zlínská Filharmonie B. Martinu rízená Tomášem Hanusem hraje s velkým nasazením a se stejným mladistvým elánem jako sólistka. [...] Oproti velkoryse pojatému Klavírnímu koncertu predstavují skladby pro sólový klavír spíše intimnejší oblast tvorby V. Kaprálové. Ale i v nich nabízí autorka nepreberné množství výrazových a náladových kontrastu a je skutecne požitkem poslouchat, jak jemne a citlive je dokáže Alice Rajnohová odstínit. [...] Vydání CD sponzorovala kanadská hudební spolecnost The Kapralova Society a jsem si jist, že mezi projekty, které tato spolecnost podporila, bude zaujímat nahrávka Alice Rajnohové jedno z nejcestnejších míst.
From a review by Veroslav Nemec for Harmonie, 2 (February 2012).

The Kapralova Companion. Lexington Books, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7391-6723-6 (cloth)—ISBN 978-0-7391-6724-3 (electronic)
A remarkable book! Since her death at age twenty-five in the midst of WWII, Kaprálová’s brilliant musical legacy and story have fallen through the cracks. But now this book brings her music, in all its variety and power, to the fore. This collection, by a range of distinguished scholars, offers insights and investigation into Kaprálová’s creative work and life. Nothing short of a revelation!”
Liane Curtis, Brandeis University

Vítezslava Kaprálová Songs: Forever Kaprálová. Dana Burešová, Timothy Cheek, Magda Cáslavová, Petr Zdvihal, Jan Valta, David Havelík. Supraphon SU 3752-2 231 (2003).
[...] Kaprálová’s songs, most of which are brief emotional utterances, exhibit an innate ability to create evocative moods, full of interesting harmonies and unexpected modulations. Her vocal music also demonstrates sensitivity to text as she showed an interest in poetry at a very young age. The result is careful and masterful attention to setting Czech inflection all the while writing lovely and soaring melodies. As she was also an accomplished pianist, Kaprálová’s accompaniments are interesting, frequently adding commentary to the text.
The first two tracks feature Dve písne, op. 4 (Two songs, from 1932), utilizing the poetry of R. Bojko (pseudonym of Alois Horák, 1877–1952). Although considered early works (Kaprálová was a mere seventeen years old), the hallmarks of her mature style are already beginning to emerge, most arguably her remarkable ability to create mood and atmosphere in her piano accompaniments. Also evident is her capacity for matching musical and linguistic prosody. She shows a unique gift for setting the natural inflection of the Czech language, which is of course enhanced by Burešová’s consummate ability to shape phrases. “Jitro” (Morning), the first song, is one of Kaprálová’s few songs that is upbeat throughout. It is more exuberant and virtuosic for both voice and piano than many of her later works. It begins with a joyous arpeggio figure in the piano, reminiscent of the sun rising, followed soon thereafter by Kaprálová’s characteristic use of unexpected harmonic turns. As evidenced throughout the CD, Burešová and Cheek work extremely well together. Burešová’s ability to change her vocal timbre to match the mood of each song, coupled with her ease of negotiating dynamic contrasts and consistent tone quality throughout all her registers is to be commended. Kaprálová exhibits a predilection for wide intervallic leaps in her vocal melodies, and Burešová soars through registration shifts with ease. The brilliant and cheerful quality Cheek elicits from the piano contrasts expertly with Burešová’s creamy tone quality. The second song, “Osirelý” (Orphaned), in complete contrast to “Jitro,” is more introverted, with brief emotional outbursts and a constant yearning quality through recurring descending figures. As outlined in Cheek’s liner notes, it is perhaps autobiographical, as it was composed during a 1932 summer stay at a spa, reminding her of “extended visits to a sanatorium following her parents’ separation.” This forlorn work contrasts to “Jitro’s” sunny and bright disposition through a sparse and haunting opening, a piano accompaniment scored lower, and ending with a brief and moving piano postlude that slowly unwinds and fades away.
This is followed with the four-song cycle Jiskry z popele, op. 5 (Sparks from ashes, from 1932–1933). These songs display her mature compositional style through utilization of an impressionistic approach, intricate motivic writing, and piano figurations based on intervals derived from the natural inflection of the poetry. These songs were dedicated to her Brno Conservatory classmate and lifelong friend, Ota Vach, with the inscription, “my only love.” He was responsible for introducing Kaprálová to the poetry of Bohdan Jelínek (1851–1874). With the exception of several folk texts, Jelínek was the only non-living Czech poet whose texts she set to music and is the poetry used for this cycle. Although the entire set is stunningly rendered and interpreted by Burešová and Cheek, a mention must be made of tracks four and five, “Jak na hedvábný mech jsem hlavu kladl na bílá nadra tvá” (Like on silk moss I laid my head on your white bosom) and “Ó zustan ješte, moje dívko drahá” (Oh, stay yet, my dear girl). The fourth track begins with a highly effective and atmospheric eight-measure opening section featuring a brief descending piano arpeggio in the right hand, immediately followed by a simple triad in the left hand. This is answered in the vocal line with a static, chant-like melody with a passing a cappella moment. This is repeated with slight variation in measures six through eight. The splendor here is in its simplicity, made even more impactful through Burešová’s exquisite shaping of Kaprálová’s inert vocal line. The song “Ó zustan ješte, moje dívko drahá” (Oh, stay yet, my dear girl), opens with a jubilant trill in the piano introduction, providing an effective contrast to the previous song. The trill figure ties the piece together, like a recurring motive throughout. Additionally, this song is more virtuosic for the voice and the piano, with the vocal line displaying a wide melodic range with much of the melody scored above and below the staff, and the piano accompaniment featuring a swirling figure that comments on the poetry. The triplet figure in the piano is often pitted against a duple figure in the melody throughout much of the song, yet Burešová and Cheek make this difficult song seems effortless.
The set is followed by Leden (January), composed in 1933 and scored for soprano, piano, flute, two violins, and cello. Utilizing sparse textures and constantly evolving sonorities, this atmospheric miniature is expertly played by all. Again, Burešová displays her flair for successfully negotiating vocal register shifts. Her vocal quality is consistent throughout, even when pitted against instruments while singing in a low range.
Tracks eight through eleven include the cycle Jablko z klína, op. 10 (Apple from the lap, from 1934–1936). This masterful set was composed when Kaprálová was only twenty years old, and uses the poetry of Jaroslav Seifert (1901–1986), from a poetry collection of the same name. As revealed in Cheek’s liner notes, with the exception of the last song, “the cycle portrays a sense of impending doom,” yet each song remains distinct. The cycle opens with “Písen na vrbovou píštalku” (Song on the willow fife), beginning the set with a burst of energy complete with sweeping descending lines in the piano and mostly descending figures in the vocal line. It features a constant ebb and flow of sounds and emotional outbursts from soprano and pianist. This is followed with “Ukolébavka” (Lullaby), a strophic song full of bitterness and distrust. Burešová convincingly sings with a sweet and soothing tone befitting of a lullaby despite the angry tone of the poetry. One of my favorite tracks is “Bezvetrí” (Calm), the third song from the cycle. It begins with the highly effective use of contrary motion between voice and piano, setting the stage with simple and gloomy beauty. This is one of Kaprálová’s darkest songs, and it is a haunting and disturbing journey for the listener. Although Burešová and Cheek use completely different colors and timbres, they perfectly match each other’s emotional intent in this fascinating juxtaposition. This is followed with Navždy, op. 12 (Forever), on tracks twelve through fourteen. Composed between 1936–1937, this cycle uses the poetry of Jan Carek (1898–1966) for the first two songs and of Seifert for the final song. The first piece of the set, also entitled “Navždy,” is in ABA form, and opens with a slow and sustained vocal line that requires excellent breath control. This is followed with “Cím je muj žal” (What is my grief), which contrasts between beautiful lyricism and parlando passages for the singer, and is expertly negotiated by Burešová. The final song of the set, “Ruce” (Hands), illustrates the ecstasy of a wedding night. The accompaniment highlights an almost impressionistic quality that is interwoven with a syllabic vocal melody. It ends dramatically with a substantial and virtuosic postlude by Cheek and a diva-worthy melismatic phrase expressed joyously by Burešová.
The next three tracks are stand-alone songs, beginning with Sbohem a šátecek, op. 14 (Waving farewell, from 1937). At over six minutes in length, this is Kaprálová’s longest song, befitting for her farewell to Prague before embarking on her journey to Paris to study at the École normale de musique and with Martinu. According to Cheek, “the entire song is based on a falling major second that appears in the first word, ‘sbohem’ (farewell). This motif, then, fills the entire song with farewells.” The beautiful and exquisite poetry, by Vítezslav Nezval (1900–1958), matched in splendor of music, results in a complicated and bittersweet farewell, both strikingly performed by Cheek and Burešová.
Koleda (Carol), also from 1937, is a concise and entertaining song, dedicated to “my feathered friends.” Most memorable is Burešová’s facility with mimicking the many animal noises Kaprálová ingeniously employs.
Between 1936–1939, Kaprálová composed the song collection Vteriny, op. 18 (Seconds), which on the CD includes tracks eighteen through twenty-five. This interesting compilation of songs was written in Paris, Brno, and Prague for friends, family members, or special occasions. One of my favorite recordings on this CD is the first song of the collection, “Bílým šátkem mává kdo se loucí” (With a white kerchief he waves). It displays an exquisite marriage between language and melodic rhythm. Burešová’s last note is extraordinary, and she is to be commended in her ability to sustain a pianissimo note so effortlessly in a problematic part of the voice. Another highlight of this set is the third song, track eighteen, entitled “Písen milostná” (Love song). In this 1938 composition, dedicated to a friend on her wedding, Cheek adeptly portrays the three-hundred chirping birds with exhuberant chaos as described in František Sušil’s (1804–1868) Moravian folk poem.
This is followed with the three–song cycle, Zpíváno do dálky, op. 22 (Sung into the distance, from 1939). The poetry is by Viktor Kripner (1906–1956), and the songs are also dedicated to him. This magnificent and highly contrasting set exemplifies Kaprálová’s natural gift with prosody, and her innate ability to write piano accompaniments that provide observations on the text. Burešová and Cheek present a superb collaboration throughout the entire set, displaying lovely interplay between voice and piano and exquisitely interweaving textures.
Dana Burešová and Timothy Cheek provide flawless performances in this important addition to the recordings of Vítezslava Kaprálová. Both Burešová and Cheek display expertise in portraying the many intricate and complicated facets of this hauntingly beautiful vocal music, and their CD is a must-have for anyone interested in the music of Kaprálová. The CD tracks (in mp3 format) are offered through ITunes and amazon.com.
From a review by Michelle Latour for Kapralova Society Journal 9, no. 2 (2011): 10-11.

Women of Firsts. Daniel Weeks.
The romantic intensity of all the songs is noteworthy; all these composers avoided the conventional, and the whole group carries an intriguing interior mood, often expressed in one kind of symbolic language or another [...]. The most experimental songs are those by Kaprálová, who died at age 25 and whose works are yielding unsuspected riches; she expanded an Impressionist language into a slightly polytonal realm.
From a review by James Manheim for allmusic.com

Festival uprostred Evropy slavil se svetovou premierou
[...] Na zamku Decin zazilo festivalove publikum hudebni svetovou premieru. V prostredi potemnele klenby [...] vystoupilo renomovane nemecke dechove Trio Lézard s programem nazvanym "Z Parize do Prahy - prazdniny pana Ferrouda" [...]. Prekvapeni navstevnici zde byli jako prvni na svete svedky Tria pro dechove nastroje od Vitezslavy Kapralove z roku 1937, jehoz fragment v brnenskem muzeu nalezl a doplnil hobojista Lézardu Stéphane Egeling. Zvukomalebna, divoka skladba okouzlujicim zpusobem pripomnela kratky zivot velmi nadejne skladatelky [...]. Na nasledne velmi vrele a nadsene ovace publika reagovali hudebnici jeste rozloucenim v podobe kultivovane rozevlate jazzove improvizace na bashoboj, kontrafagot a saxofon.
From a review by Tomas Kabrt, written for Harmonie 9 (September 2011): 62.

Vítezslava Kaprálová - songs of Czech independence. Forever Kapralova: Songs. Supraphon SU 3752-2 231 (2003).
[...] January, for voice, piano, flute, two violins and cello [...] is a beautiful piece. [...] Exquisite balance, the instruments (especially seductive cello) curving round the voice, slowly encircling it, and this is just Kapralova's op. 5!
[...] An Apple from the Lap is another group of songs to texts by Jaroslav Seifert, another avant-garde liberal and colleague of Nezval - Kapralova chooses contemporary texts, nothing safe or easy. [..] Like her poets, much older and cannier than she is, Kapralova mixes different moods deftly. [...]
Sbohem a satecek (Waving Farewell) [...] is a masterpiece. The text is Nezval, not symbolist but extremely sophisticated emotionally. [...] Had she lived, Kapralova might have eclipsed Martinu altogether, much as I like him, as she was such an individualistic original.
From a review by Doundou Tchil, classical-iconoclast.blogspot.com, August 14, 2011.

Compositrici da primato nella musica cameristica. La Centaur Records propone un cd rivolto a prestigiose figure della musica al femminile.
Il loro perfetto affiatamento, inoltre, crea una giusta atmosfera, che restituisce la forte intensita, legata a testi per la maggior parte nostalgici e struggenti, contribuendo anche ad evidenziare i diversi stili delle quattro compositrici, il che rende il cd, nel suo complesso, imperdibile per tutti gli appassionati di musica cameristica.
From a review by Marco del Vaglio for AGIRE, June 2011.

Women of Firsts
A partire dalla fine dell’Ottocento, e per tutto il Novecento, la storia della musica č ricca di figure femminili di notevole spessore, la cui notorietŕ non si limitň al paese di nascita, ma raggiunse tutto il mondo. Ce lo ricorda un cd della Centaur Records, intitolato “Women of First”, che ha affidato al tenore Daniel Weeks e alla pianista Naomi Oliphant quattro brani, di altrettante compositrici, distintesi in un settore considerato di stretta competenza maschile L’apertura č dedicata a Vitezlava Kaprálová (Brno, 1915-Montpellier, 1940) che, nonostante la brevissima esistenza, stroncata dalla tisi, ancora oggi rimane un saldo punto di riferimento della musica ceca e detiene diversi primati.
Fu, infatti, la prima donna a diplomarsi in composizione e direzione d’orchestra, nonché la prima rappresentante femminile a condurre l’Orchestra Filarmonica Ceca e l’Orchestra della BBC, in quest’ultimo caso durante il Festival di Musica Contemporanea che si svolse a Londra nel 1938. Nel disco č presente con Forever, op. 12 (1936-37), tre brevi pezzi scritti nel 1936-37 su liriche dei poeti cechi Jan Carek e Jaroslav Seifert (premio Nobel per la letteratura nel 1984), in cui vi č quasi un presagio di una fine che sarebbe avvenuta lontana da casa.
Seconda autrice in programma, Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969), in assoluto la prima compositrice polacca ad ottenere riconoscimenti nazionali ed internazionali, cosa ancora piů rimarchevole, se consideriamo il suo stile musicale, molto moderno e quindi in aperto contrasto con il regime stalinista. Alla sua produzione appartengono i Tre canti per tenore ed orchestra, risalenti al 1938, su testi di un ignoto autore arabo, poi arrangiati nel 1958 nella versione per tenore e pianoforte registrata nel cd. Anche la statunitense Amy Cheney (1867-1944) meriterebbe un articolo a parte per la sua lunga carriera.
Pianista prodigio, interruppe l’attivitŕ di solista dopo il matrimonio con il fisico Henry Beach, continuando quella di compositrice, per tornare alla ribalta concertistica una volta diventata vedova. A lei si deve, fra l’altro, la prima sinfonia scritta da una donna americana (pubblicata sotto lo pseudonimo Mrs. H.H.A.). Il disco della Centaur mette in evidenza le Three Browning Songs, scritte tra il 1895 ed il 1900 attingendo alla produzione poetica del britannico Robert Browning.
La chiusura dell’incisione č sotto il segno di Lili Boulanger (1893-1918), prima donna a vincere il prestigiosissimo Prix de Rome nel 1913. Sorella della leggendaria Nadia, docente che formň generazioni di compositori, ebbe una carriera luminosa, prematuramente interrotta a causa della sindrome di Crohn, una malattia rara e devastante, diagnosticatale da bambina, che la accompagnň per tutta la sua brevissima esistenza. Ottimo esempio della sua produzione č rappresentato da Clairičres dans le Ciel (1913-14), che copre piů della metŕ del cd, ciclo formato da tredici pezzi tratti dall’omonima raccolta del poeta simbolista francese Francis Jammes. Alle origini della raccolta vi sarebbe probabilmente una storia d’amore fra Lili e David Devričs, tenore che eseguě in prima assoluta la composizione nel 1918, giusto una settimana prima della morte della Boulanger.
Uno sguardo, ora, ai due interpreti, il tenore Daniel Weeks e la pianista Naomi Oliphant. Il primo evidenzia una voce molto bella ed espressiva, mentre la seconda risulta dotata di un tocco raffinato ed elegante. Insieme, grazie ad un perfetto affiatamento e ad una innata sensibilitŕ, riescono a creare un’ atmosfera che restituisce integralmente la forte intensitŕ legata a testi sovente nostalgici e struggenti.
In conclusione un cd di grande interesse, prodotto grazie agli sforzi dei due esecutori, ed al contributo finanziario congiunto dell’Universitŕ di Louisville e della Kapralova Society, che aggiunge un altro tassello alla conoscenza della musica al femminile.
A review by Marco del Vaglio for critica classica, June 5, 2011. Reprinted by permission.

Umelci na koncerte vyjadrili poctu Gustavu Mahlerovi
Úvod vecera patril výberu z písní výjimecné skladatelky první poloviny dvacátého století Vítezslavy Kaprálové. Celkem pet písní, v nichž skladatelka dokázala na velmi malém prostoru vystihnout vnitrní atmosféru textu, vyjádrila Polášková nadmíru expresivne, avšak zároven nesmírne citlive.
From a review by David Kanovsky for Olomoucky denik, 5.4.2011.

Women of Firsts: Art songs by the first important Twentieth Century women composers from the Czech Republic, Poland, United States, and France. Composers: Vítezslava Kaprálová, Grazyna Bacewicz, Amy Beach, Lili Boulanger. Performers: Daniel Weeks, tenor; Naomi Oliphant, piano. Centaur Recordings, CRC 2966 (2008).
Upon first glance, one would assume that a CD entitled Women of Firsts would feature a female voice and piano duo. However, this CD features tenor Daniel Weeks and pianist Naomi Oliphant in a wonderful recording of familiar and unfamiliar vocal compositions from four female composers who were “true pioneers in their field.” Kaprálová was the first woman to conduct the Czech Philharmonic; Bacewicz was the first female composer in Poland to receive national and international attention; Beach was one of the first American women composers to successfully compose in large compositional forms in addition to garnering critical acclaim in Europe; Boulanger was the first female composer to win the famed Prix de Rome at only 19 years old.
The first three tracks on this recording feature the cycle Navždy (Forever) by Vítezslava Kaprálová. These evocative songs are typical of Kaprálová’s compositional style, displaying an ethereal and otherworldly quality through the use of interesting harmonies and unexpected modulations coupled with expansive vocal lines and frequent wide intervallic leaps in the melody. This set is beautifully performed by Weeks and Oliphant, with Weeks demonstrating exquisite phrasing and musicality, in addition to expertly negotiating the contrasting demands of parlando and bel canto singing.
This is followed with Grazyna Bacewicz’s song cycle, Trzy piesni do slów arabskich z X wieku (Three songs to words from the tenth century Arab poetry), originally scored for tenor and orchestra in 1938, and later arranged for tenor and piano. This brief yet highly varied set certainly deserves its place in art song repertoire. "Mamidlo" (Mirage) was a lovely surprise for me, as it is accessible and tonal, yet with brief flashes of chromaticism and a melancholy sensation all at once. However, the highlight of this cycle is the second song, "Inna" (Other Woman). A mere 43 seconds in length, the song features the piano as the more prominent character, employing “a polytonal, ostinato pattern to invoke the nearby lover, while more lyrical and flowing material is used with expressive and tonal harmonies to illustrate the other woman.”
Although Amy Beach’s cycle, Three Browning Songs, have been recorded by numerous artists, Weeks' and Oliphant’s version is to be commended. The best part of this set is Weeks’ high notes—they are glorious and plentiful. Although the tempo in the first song, “The Year’s at the Spring,” is a bit slow, Weeks and Oliphant make up for this in the second song, “Ah, Love, but a day!” This is their best performance of the entire CD. Oliphant plays the poignant piano part with utmost clarity, and Weeks’ facility with his upper register is quite remarkable. His high notes are loud, resonant, and beautiful.
The final cycle on the recording is Clairičres dans le Ciel, by Lili Boulanger. This cycle is also well-represented in numerous recordings, although it is performed by more sopranos despite the fact that it was composed for tenor, David Devričs. Although many of the tempi are too fast in this recording, mention must be made of Par ce que j’ai souffert. The dramatic and intense suffering in this piece is expertly performed, and the duo makes this extremely difficult song sound incredibly easy, with seamless transitions between tempi, dynamic, expressive, and harmonic changes.
The CD liner notes are thorough, well-written and insightful, offering information on each composer, describing compositional techniques, discussing historical context, and providing translations. Women of Firsts is a thoughtful and musical presentation of important female composers whose music deserves to be heard more often.
From a review by Michelle Latour written for the Kapralova society Journal, 9, no. 1 (2011), 11.

Preludium Renaty Bialasove pro V. Kapralovou a B. Martinu.
[...] Dila V. Kapralove a B. Martinu fascinuji formou i brilantnim sarmem. A stejny sarm nachazime ve skvele interpretaci R. Bialasove...[..].
From a CD review by Kvetuse Lepilova for KAM (February 2011).

Kapralova Quartet matiné
Vitezslava Kapralova, Alfred Schnittke, Leos Janacek a jejich smyccové kvartety – to byl obsah posledniho matiné festivalu Janacek Brno 2010, které melo rozsah regulerniho vecerniho koncertu. Kapralova Quartet hral energicky a predevsim zpevne zcela v duchu tradice zapocate Ceským kvartetem. Tato charakteristika ostatne dokonale korespondovala se Smyccovým kvartetem op. 8 Vitezslavy Kapralove. [...]
From a review by Boris Klepal for Zapisnik zmizeleho (November 2010).

Vitezslava Kapralova, Bohuslav Martinu: Preludium. Renata Bialasova, piano.
Pianistka Renata Bielasova [..] se velmi uspesne prosazuje v nasem koncertnim zivote jako solistka i jako komorni hracka […] Tentokrat pripravila zajimavy a zasluzny projekt k vyroci brnenske autorky Vitezslavy Kapralove [1915-1940]. Nastudovala vsechna stezejni klavirni dila teto mladicke skladatelky [...] a predklada nam je i na svem nejnovejsim CD. [...] Narocnou Sonatu appassionatu [..] hraje Renata Bialasova s brilanci, nehou, vtipem, pochopenim ruznych nalad i patricnym vygradovanim vzrusenych ploch... [..] Skladba Variace na zvonkohru kostela St. Etienne du Mont [...] by si zaslouzila stejne popularity jako Dubnova preludia; presvedciva a zjevne zaujata interpretace Renaty Bielasove privola mozna tuto skladbu na casteji na koncertni podium. [...]
From a CD review by Vera Lejskova for Hudebni rozhledy 7 (2010).

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.