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Crescendo of quality in Amazon's 'Mozart.'
[...] And not just classical music, either; 'Mozart' is not elitist. There's rock, experimental music, jazz, punk and, in the third season, a wonderful introduction to the career of Vitezslava Kapralova, a gifted and prolific composer who conducted both the Czech Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra during her brief life. The samples of her music performed by Haileys' friend Lizzie (Hannah Dunne) effectively whet the appetite to hear more.
From a review by David Wiegand for San Francisco Chronicle Late Edition, December 6, 2016.

Still available on iTunes! The Music of Vitezslava Kapralova. Stephanie Chase, Virginia Eskin. Koch Records KIC-CD-7742 (2008).
This glorious music from one of the greatest 20th century composers is exquisitely played by Eskin and Chase. Recorded in 2007 at the Performing Arts Center with support from the Kapralova Society this album is excellently engineered and sounds wonderful. Although the CD is out of print, you can still download the album in M4a format from iTunes for $9.99. Even if you prefer lossless, you should make an exception in this case. No one should miss this joyous testament to a true genius!
From a review by a pseudonym for amazon.com, September 3, 2016.

Neglected Works for Piano. Bengt Forsberg, piano. dB PRODUCTIONS DBCD170.
Bengt Forsberg, best known outside Sweden as Anne Sophie von Otter’s accompanist, is a fine pianist of wide-ranging curiosity. [...] The music covers a wide range, with compositions written between 1889 and 1955, a period of great stylistic variety. The pieces reflect this diversity, albeit usually within a relatively conservative aesthetic. There are eight composers of six nationalities, with two Swedish, two American, and Czech, British, French, and Polish musicians. Vitezslava Kapralova was a Bohuslav Martinu pupil. These four April Preludes were dedicated to Rudolf Firkusny, and show a strong Czech national element. Kapralova seems a distinctive voice, with a playful touch that stands out in a collection of mostly serious music. Moods change rapidly even within these short movements. The limpid andante, for instance, ends with an unexpected bit of flash. The final movement has a mocking undertone. [...] Forsberg’s performances are immaculate. This bundle of unexpected pleasures is presented in first class recorded sound, with notes by Forsberg that are informative and sometimes wry.
From a review by Richard Kraus for MusicWeb International, August 2016.

Bengt Forsberg: Neglected Works for Piano. DB Productions (2016).
‘Neglected Works for Piano’ is all that the front of Bengt Forsberg’s new CD reveals. The fact that they’re all women composers, of varying degrees of obscurity, only becomes plain from the tracklist – a gratifyingly understated approach in an age obsessed with positive-discrimination box-ticking. [...] We begin with Vitezslava Kapralova, one of the great ‘what ifs’, who died in 1940 at just 25 from TB. She was a pupil of Martinu and shares his rhythmic verve in the four April Preludes. What’s also striking is her sureness of voice, the pieces by turn folk-imbued, punchy and wistful, ending with a rhythmically inventive, incisive Vivo. [...] With a recording as fine as the pianism, this is a terrific disc, heartily recommended.
From a review by Harriet Smith for Gramophone, June 2016.

New Life for Musical Scores on Dusty Shelves. Bengt Forsberg: Neglected Works for Piano. DB Productions (2016).
Are these trivial works, or is it because they were composed by women? Marketing is important in art as in retail, and women composers until recently have had social obstacles in attaining recognition. Let the listener decide from this album of largely ignored works performed by Swedish pianist Bengt Forsberg. Three composers on this album are somewhat familiar: Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983), the lone woman of Le Six (the others being Milhaud, Poulenc, Honegger, Auric, and Durey); Doreen Carwithen (1922-2003), who wrote chamber music, some orchestral pieces including a piano concerto, and much music for film, and also was the wife of composer William Alwyn; and Pete Seeger's stepmother Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953), who favored ultra-modernism. The other neglected composers here are the Czech Vitezslava Kapralova (1915-1940), whose life was cut short at age 25 but managed to score some 50 pieces; the prolific American Amy Beach (1867-1944), with over 300 works often of global ethnic influence; the Swede Valborg Aulin (1860-1928), known for her string quartets; fellow Swede Ruth Almén (1870-1945), a poet who taught children besides writing romantic chamber works; and Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969), who was a violinist and composer influenced by her Polish folk music. The piano was recorded at low volume and at a distance; the sound, while distinct, is somewhat thin and treble. This caveat aside, the variety of short pieces, sonatinas and preludes, is interesting; indeed, the listener may be surprised at the admirable quality of composition. Our particular tastes in classical music may influence our judgment, but in our enlightened age, it is good to dust off these scores for unbiased reconsideration.
A review by Debra Jan Bibel for amazon.com, June 11, 2016.

Duo Levicek – pohlazeni na dobrou noc. 1. cervna 2016 sal Martinu Lichtenstejnskeho palace Praha.
Poradat koncert v pul desate vecer muze byt pro nekoho ponekud odrazujici. Nicmene, servirovana kombinace mi prisla nesmirne zajimava. Senzacni jazzovy pianista Jiri Levicek, hrajici „klasicky“ repertoar se svou zenou mezzosopranistkou s americkymi koreny, Chaazi Levicek. Pokusim se opet nastinit ojedinelou atmosferu jednoho z koncertu cyklu Prazskeho jara. [...] Cyklus Jablko z klina Vitezslavy „Vitulky“ Kapralove me dostal. Uzasnymi harmoniemi, poeticnosti i pres svuj moderni jazyk, zivymi obrazy, vyvstavajicimi prede mnou. Asi to bude i tim Seifertem. Pisen na vrbovou pistalku, Ukolebavka, Bezvetri, Jarni pout a znama Nezvalova Sbohem a satecek spojuji nadcasove pravdy, zkusenosti, milostne prozitky, pomijivost lasky, prijmuti a krehkost zivota. Naplno se zde projevila ona atmosfera vecera, kterou jsem v uvodu nastinila. Nevím, nakolik volnou ruku meli interpreti pri vyberu skladeb, nicmene bylo citit a slyset, že jsou to pro ne srdecni, osobni zalezitosti. Chaazi se s Necechy obavanou cestinou poprala skvele.
From a review by Kristyna Farac for Opera Plus, June 2, 2016.

A Celebration of Women in Music!
There are multiple reasons to want this recording. The outstanding pianist is reason number one. The eight women composers inspired Bengt Forsberg sufficiently enough to create this unusual CD. One must trust his judgment! I did, and I’m happy to encourage other listeners to follow me.
A review by Bess Holloway for ArkivMusic, May 27, 2016.

The Spirit And The Maiden. Muses Trio. Self-published.
The Kapralova Elegy, written a year before her death of tuberculosis, packs a lot of punch in its less than three minutes. [...] The three performers have strong national and international credentials, and their work here is very good, committed and passionate.
A review by David Barker for MusicWeb 2016.

Vitezslava Kapralova: Povidky male fletny. Amos Editio 2014.
Vitezslava Kapralova se i pres svuj kratky zivot dokazala vyznamne zapsat mezi osobnosti nasi hudby mezivalecneho obdobi. Diky spolupraci kanadske hudebni spolecnosti The Kapralova Society a nakladatelstvi Amos Editio je dilo teto pozoruhodne skladatelky postupne zpristupnovano v kritickych edicich. [...] Kapralova Povidky zamyslela jako trivety cyklus, z nehoz vsak dokoncila pouze dve casti. Prvni veta, nesouci se ve volnem tempu a melodickem charakteru, vyuziva rozsah sopranove zobcove fletny pomerne siroce od d' do c'''. Je z toho mozno soudit, ze v dobe, kdy zobcova fletna byla v instrumentari 20. stoleti pomerne cerstvym nastrojem a hudebni skladatele s ni nemeli jeste mnoho zkusenosti, Kapralova k partu pristupovala spise jako k pricne fletne. Napovidalo by tomu i nezvykle oznaceni tohoto instrumentalniho hlasu jako "Quasi flauto". Klavir je prokomponovan pomerne bohate a prozrazuje, ze v tomto pripade se autorka pohybovala na zname pude. Ve druhe vete si u fletnoveho partu Kapralova oproti predchozi casti vystacila s mnohem mensim rozsahem od e' do e'' (respektive fis'' v trylku). Neni bohuzel znamo, co tento nepomer zpusobilo, nicmene je mozne, ze prvni skladba byla pro Jiriho Muchu prilis narocna a Kapralova tedy ztratila nadseni k dokonceni cyklu, druhou vetu napsala mnohem jednodussi a na treti jiz vubec nezacala pracovat. Navzdory tomu jsou Povidky jedinecnymi a interpretacne osobitymi drobnostmi, ktere predstavuji zrejme nejstarsi kompozicni dilo ceskych hudebnich skladatelu 20. stoleti jez je venovano zobcove fletne.
From a review by Lukas Vytlacil for Harmonie 4/2016.

Bengt Forsberg lyfter fram stora tonsättare utan att göra stor affär av deras kön. Neglected works for piano. DB Productions.
Detta är den enkla titeln på en av vårens viktigaste skivor. Här spelar pianisten Bengt Forsberg musik av Vítezslava Kaprálová, Amy Beach, Doreen Carwithen, Valborg Aulin, Ruth Almén, Grazyna Bacewicz, Germaine Tailleferre och Ruth Crawford Seeger. Alla är kvinnor, ja, men titeln uppmanar lyssnaren att i första hand betrakta skivan som en samling med god musik som få har hört, inte som en presentation av kvinnliga tonsättare. Det är en bra inställning, och den håller.
From a review by Tobias Lund for Sydsvenskan, March 8, updated March 12, 2016.

Bengt Forsberg - Neglected Works for Piano. DB Productions (2016).
Bengt Forsbergs album där han låter åtta kvinnliga tonsättare, med starka egna röster, träda fram ur den bakgrund som historien tilldelat dem. Av vilka profiler som Grazyna Bacewicz, Doreen Carwithen och Germaine Tailleferre tillhör de minst förbigångna. Överraskningarna blir därför flera. Som den avantgardistiska mystiken hos Ruth Crawford Seeger (styvmamma till Pete), den underbara otåligheten hos den unga Vítezslava Kaprálová och det djärvt storslagna hos lärarinnan, poeten och barnboksförfattaren Ruth Almén. Bästa spår: ”April Preludes Op 13”.
From a review by Martin Nyström for Dagens Nyheter, March 16, 2016.

Vitezslava Kapralova: Dopisy domu. Korespondence rodicum z let 1935-1940. Vydano ke stemu vyroci skladatelcina narozeni. Edici pripravila Karla Hartl. The Kapralova Society, Toronto 2015. ISBN 978-0-9940425-0-7, 312 stran a 50 ilustraci.
Vitezslava Kapralova predstavuje osobnost, jejiz kratky zivot a pozoruhodna kompozicni tvorba stale znovu vzbuzuji pozornost autoru, kteri se k ni obraceji bud se zajmem odbornym (jen na JAMU uz bylo o ni napsano osm diplomovych a jedna disertacni prace!), nebo se zajmem vychazejicim z pozadavku beletrie. Nejnovejsi kniha venovana Kapralove vysla ke stemu vyroci skladatelcina narozeni, ne vsak u nas, nybrz v dalekem kanadskem Torontu a neni urcovana ani hlediskem ciste odbornym ani beletristickym. Nese nazev Dopisy domu a je prvnim soubornym vydanim skladatelciny korespondence rodicum z poslednich peti let jejiho zivota.
Editorkou knihy je Karla Hartl, predsedkyne a spiritus movens kanadske spolecnosti The Kapralova Society. Za praci na knize i konecny vysledek zaslouzi hluboky obdiv a uznani, a to z vice duvodu. V prve rade proto, ze se ji podarilo shromazdit vsechny dopisy, jez psala Kapralova v dobe studii v Praze a pozdeji ve Francii svym rodicum. Tyto dopisy existuji totiz az na jedinou vyjimku pouze v soukromych archivech! Dalsi duvodem k vysloveni uznani je vlastni cinnost editorska, zahrnujici desifraci a pripadne i nutnou upravu textu a predevsim doplneni vykladovymi poznamkami. Ty jsou pozoruhodne kompletni, coz vyzadovalo praci leckdy az detektivni pri zjistovani dat a programu koncertu, overovani udaju v tisku nebo zjistovani dobovych nazvu ulic a instituci apod. Kapralova psala sve dopisy s temer zeleznou pravidelnosti, ponevadz jeji rodice jakekoliv zdrzeni tezce nesli a ona jim nechtela zpusobovat starosti. Kniha tedy obsahuje 196 dopisu. Jsou vetsinou obsahle, takze mame diky nim moznost seznamit se s Vitulcinymi aktivitami mnohdy temer hodinu po hodine a poznat zpusob jejiho mysleni, jeji nazory na spolecnost, na lidi, s nimiz se poznala. Byla mezi nimi rada znamych osobnosti vcetne prezidenta Benese, jehoz Kapralova popisuje s velkymi sympatiemi smisenymi s trochou selmovstvi pote, co si „kapli do noty“ pri oficialnim jednani o prestavce koncertu. Z hudebni sfery ci kulturni oblasti bylo techto osobnosti jeste mnohem vice a vesmes se jednalo o spickove predstavitele toho ktereho oboru; Karla Hartl je vsechny v predmluve ke sve knize vyjmenovala a dospela pritom k cislu 66! Vitulciny dopisy rodicum jsou velmi vyznamnym dokumentem, v nemz se zraci skladatelcin vyvoj osobni i tvurci a zrani jeji osobnosti. Napriklad jeden z dopisu predstavuje Vitulku uvedomujici si kulturni bohatstvi sve vlasti („Prekrasne Ceskoslovensko po vsech strankach, od Tri Studni az po Talicha!“ str. 114), v dalsim si ctenar uvedomi hloubku jejiho filozofickeho mysleni v souvislosti s tim, jak se Vitulka snazi uklidnovat matku a odvest ji od tryznivych metafyzickych uvah (str. 134) a zase v dalsim dopise resi pisatelka ambivalentni vztah se svym otcem, ktery ji na jedne strane byl starostlivym pomocnikem a ochrancem, ale na druhe strane striktnim vymahatelem „poradku“ podle svych predstav (str.165). Oproti temto lidsky velmi hlubokym dopisum se ctenar v jinych pripadech i trochu pobavi odhalenim faktu, ze Vitulka nebyla ochotna si overovat spravne zpusoby psani zejmena jmen a nazvu, takze se jeji dopisy hemzi chybami: tak zasadne pise Honneger misto Honegger, Hindemit misto Hindemith, u Martinu Riccerkari a Julliette (misto Ricercari, Juliette) a plete se dokonce v nazvu sve vlastni skladby, kdyz pise Variace na zvony kostela St. Etien du Mont (namisto St. Etienne).
Vztahu Vitezslavy Kapralove k muzum byla uz venovana nejedna publikace (jmenujme alespon Muchovy Podivne lasky a Uhrovu knihu Ona a Martinu). A prave delikatnost techto vztahu, ktere by se mohly pri nesetrnem pristupu stat soustem pro bulvar, primela Karlu Hartl k vysostne etickemu rozhodnuti vydat tuto knihu pouze v omezenem mnozstvi 35 (slovy: triceti peti!) vytisku a venovat ji povetsinou jen odbornym knihovnam. Budiz ji za to vysloven hluboky obdiv a neskonaly dik! Kniha vychazejici v elegantnim cernobilem provedeni (graficka uprava Lukas Hytha) a prikladna po odborne i jazykove strance je ozdobou a jednoznacnym obohacenim literatury o skladatelce Vitezslave Kapralove.
Review by Jindra Bartova for Hudebni rozhledy 3/2016.

Vitezslava Kapralova in ihrer und unserer Zeit – zu Einfluss und Rezeption ihres Schaffens. Kapralova Symposium Basel, November 27-28, 2015.
The penultimate event for the day was a public concert presented by Alice Rajnohová (piano) and Olga Pavlu (vocalist). The program was well-chosen to present a cross-section of some of Kapralova’s best works: for piano—the Variations sur le Carillon de l’Eglise St-Etienne-du-Mont, op. 16; April Preludes, op. 13, and to conclude the concert, the Sonata Appassionata, op. 6, complemented within by Kapral’s Sonata for piano, No. 3 and Martinu’s Three Czech Dances. The vocal portion of the program featured Zpivano do dalky / Sung into the distance, op. 22 and her best-known Sbohem a satecek / Waving Farewell, op. 14. In a word, the entire concert was: STUNNING.
From a conference report by Judith Mabary, Kapralova Society Journal 14, no. 1 (Spring 2016): 9-10.