Jaroslav Kvapil (21 April 1892 – 18 February 1958) was a Czech composer, teacher, conductor and pianist.
Life and career
Born in
Fryšták, he studied with
Josef Nešvera and worked as a chorister in Olomouc from 1902 to 1906. He then studied at the Brno School of Organists under
Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...
, earning a diploma in 1909. He studied with
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...
at the
Leipzig Conservatory
The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest music ...
from 1911 through 1913.
Kvapil was an excellent accompanist, noted for his skill in sight reading. As the choirmaster and conductor of the Brno Beseda (1919–47) he gave the world première of Janáček's ''
Glagolitic Mass'', and the Czech premières of
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
’s ''
St Matthew Passion
The ''St Matthew Passion'' (), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of th ...
'' (1923),
Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...
’s ''Judith'' (1933) and
Karol Szymanowski
Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 3 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernism (music), modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Szymanowski's early w ...
’s ''
Stabat mater
The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to the Virgin Mary that portrays her suffering as mother during the crucifixion of her son Jesus Christ. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Saba ...
'' (1937). He received the Award of Merit in 1955. He taught at the School of Organists and at the
Brno Conservatory, and he was appointed professor of composition at the academy in 1947. His students included
Hana Janků,
Miloslav Ištvan
Miloslav Ištvan (2 September 1928 in Olomouc – 26 January 1990, in Brno) was a Czech composer whose work was inspired by the works of Béla Bartók and by the orientation of the modal style of folk songs. He studied Romanian and African folklore ...
,
Ctirad Kohoutek,
Čestmír Gregor
Čestmír Gregor (14 May 1926 – 2 March 2011) was a Czech composer, theorist and publicist. His career as a composer lasted from 1942 to 2005, and encompassed a variety of styles and formats.
Life and career
Čestmír Gregor was born in Brno, ...
and
Jiří Matys. He died in
Brno
Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
[Černušák, p. 797] at the age of 65.
Selected works
;Orchestra
* ''Dnes a zítra'' (Today and Tomorrow), Symphonic Overture
* ''Notturno'' (1911)
* Symphony No.2
* Symphony No.4
* ''Svítání'' (Dawn), Symphonic Poem
* ''Thema con variazioni e fuga''
* ''Z těžkých dob'' (From Hard Times), Symphonic Variations
;Concertante
* Concerto for oboe and orchestra
* Concerto for piano and orchestra
* Concerto No.1 for violin and orchestra (1927–1928)
* Concerto No.2 for violin and orchestra (1952)
* ''Suita'' (Suite) for viola and chamber orchestra (1955)
;Chamber music
* Clarinet Quintet (1914)
* ''Dvě skladby'' (2 Pieces) for violin and piano (1946)
* Quartet for flute, violin, viola and cello (1948)
* String Quartet No.4 (1935)
* Duo for violin and viola (1949)
* String Quartet No.5 (1949)
* Sonata in D major for violin and piano (1950)
* Sonata in D major for violin and piano
* Sonata for violin and organ
* ''Variace na vlastní thema'' (Variations on an Original Theme) for trumpet and piano (1929)
;Organ
* ''Fantasie'' in E minor
;Piano
* ''Legenda'' (1912)
* ''Menuetto'' (1912)
* ''Intermezzo'' (1912)
* ''Humoreska'' (1912)
* ''Lento melancolico – Allegro risoluto''
* Sonata (1910)
* Sonatina (1950)
* ''Údolím stesku a žalu'', 9 Pieces (1936)
* ''Vánoce'' (Christmas) (1924)
* ''Variace na vlastní thema'' (Variations on an Original Theme) (1914)
* ''V říši snů'' (In the Realm of Dreams) (1933)
;Vocal
* ''Pět písní na slova Antonína Sovy'' (5 Songs on the Words of Antonín Sova) (1918)
;Choral
* ''Dukelská dumka'', Song for unison chorus
Notes
External links
*
References
*
Jan Trojan. "Kvapil, Jaroslav", ''
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...
''.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kvapil, Jaroslav
1892 births
1958 deaths
Czech male composers
Czech choral conductors
Czech pianists
20th-century Czech conductors (music)
20th-century Czech composers
20th-century pianists
Czech male pianists
20th-century Czech male musicians
People from Fryšták
Burials at Brno Central Cemetery
Academic staff of Brno Conservatory