Vaclav Kapral studied composition under Leos Janacek (Brno, 1907-1910) and Vitezslav Novak (Prague, 1919-1920). He also studied piano interpretation method with Marie Kuhlova (Brno, 1903-1907), Adolf Miks (Prague, 1919-1920), Klara Schäferova (Brno, 1920-1922), and Alfred Cortot (Paris, 1923, 1924). In 1911, he founded his own private music school, and for a number of years, he had been in a great demand as piano teacher.

In 1913, Vaclav Kapral married classically trained singer Viktorie Uhlirova, and in 1915, their first and only child, Vitezslava, was born. In 1921, their marriage broke down, and two years later, the couple separated but continued taking joint care of Vitezslava who was to become one of the most important Czech composers of her generation.

During the years 1922-1930, Kapral devoted much of his time to concert performances of music for two pianos, together with prof. Ludvik Kundera, his friend and later also a colleague at the Brno Conservatory. The two were instrumental in founding the Moravian Composers' Club in Brno in 1922.1 During the years 1919-1928, Kapral was also active as choirmaster, lecturer and music theoretician and critic. He had written numerous reviews and articles for Rovnost (1920-1922), Venkov (1922-1924), and Hudebni rozhledy (1924-1928). He also authored several entries in Gracian Cernusak's Dictionary of Music and edited several works by old Czech masters (Benda, Vorisek) for Vladimir Helfert's Musica antiqua bohemica.

In 1927, Kapral was appointed lecturer at the Masaryk University of Brno. In 1935, he was appointed professor of composition at the Brno Conservatory and elected a member of the Czech Academy of Arts and Sciences. A year later, he was elected Vice-Chairman of Czech Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music. In the fall of 1942, Kapral was arrested by Gestapo and until the spring of 1945 imprisoned in the internment camp Svatoborice near Kyjov. After the war, he was elected the first chairman of the Syndicate of Czechoslovak Composers, but his health was already failing and he died the following year.

NB. This text was originally published at the website of The Kapralova Society (http://www.kapralova.org/KAPRAL.htm). Provided by courtesy of Karla Hartl, the director.