Classical Music CD Review - Vitezslava Kapralova

An incredibly gifted musician, Vitezslava Kapralova composed music with such complexity and grandeur that it sounds as if you are listening to a combination of Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Liszt. This relatively unknown female Czech composer composed the works of this album all before turning the young age of twenty-six, which I'll discuss in more detail later in this review. If you are looking for highly sophisticated piano music rich in texture, clarity, and depth, look no further.

Vitezslava Kapralova was born in what is now known as the Czech Republic in 1915. She began composing at the age of nine and later entered into a music conservatory. Kapralova's years of musical study are dotted with many achievements and awards. Many of her works garnered critical acclaim. In 1939, during World War II, Kapralova moved to France once Germany occupied Czechoslovakia. While in France Kapralova wed the writer Jiri Mucha in 1940. Tragically, only two months into their marriage, Kapralova died of miliary tuberculosis. She was only twenty-five years old. Imagine, had she lived to at least her 60s, how much more music she would have composed.

On this album are eight works: April Preludes, Legend for violin and piano, Burlesque for violin and piano Op.3b, Five Compositions for Piano Op. 1 , Elegy for Violin and Piano, Sonata Appassionata Op. 6, Variations sur le Carillon de l'Eglise Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, and Little Song. Of these eight works, a few especially are worth adding to your classical music collection: the April Preludes and the Carillon Variations. These two works alone demonstrate the skill and magnitude of Kapralova's talents.