Rafael Kubelík
Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer.
The son of a distinguished violinist,
Kubelík was music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1950–53), musical director of The Royal Opera, Covent Garden (1955–58). In 1957, he conducted and recorded the World premiere Berlioz's Les Troyens. From 1961 to 1979, he was music director of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and was a frequent guest conductor for leading orchestras in Europe and America.
As a composer, Kubelík wrote in a neo-romantic idiom. His works include five operas, three symphonies, chamber music, choral works, and songs.
Life and career
Early life
Kubelík was born in
Brno
In 1939, Kubelík became music director of the
In 1944, after various incidents, including one in which he declined to greet the Nazi Reichsprotektor
Defection
After the
In 1953, the Communist government convicted the couple in absentia of "taking illicit leave" abroad. In 1956, the regime invited him back "with promises of freedom to do anything I wanted," said Kubelík, but he refused the invitation. In a 1957 letter to The Times, Kubelík said he would seriously consider returning only when all the country's political prisoners were freed and all émigrés were given as much freedom as he would have possessed. He was invited back by the regime in 1966 but again refused; in 1968, after the Prague Spring had been ended by the Soviet invasion, he organised an international boycott, in which many of the major classical artists of the West participated.[4]
Chicago, Covent Garden and Munich
In 1950, Kubelík became music director of the
After leaving Chicago, Kubelík toured the US with the
In 1961 Ludmilla Kubelík died after a car crash. Also in 1961, he premiered the concerto performance version of Schoenberg's Jakobsleiter-Fragment in Vienna, with the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra and choir.
In 1963 Kubelík married the Australian soprano Elsie Morison (1924–2016). In 1967 he became a Swiss citizen, and began an association with the Lucerne Festival, in addition to his work with the BRSO.[1]
In 1971, Göran Gentele, the new general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, New York, asked Kubelík to accept the position of music director.[11] Kubelík accepted partly because of his strong artistic relationship with Gentele. The first production he conducted as the Met's music director was Les Troyens.[12] The death of Gentele in a road accident in 1972 undermined Kubelík's reasons for working at the opera house. He had prior conducting commitments away from the Met in his first season there, which diverted his attention. He resigned from the Met in 1974, after only six months in the post.[13]
In his post-Czechoslovakian career, Kubelík worked with the
Last years
In 1985, ill-health (notably severe
On October 18, 1991, Kubelík shared the podium with Sir Georg Solti and Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a performance that re-created the orchestra's inaugural October 16 and 17, 1891, concerts. Kubelík led the final work on the program: Antonín Dvořák's Husitská Overture.[14]
Kubelík died in 1996, aged 82, in Kastanienbaum, in the
Compositions
Among Kubelík's compositions are five operas, three symphonies, three settings of the requiem, other choral works, many pieces of chamber music, and songs. Salter describes his musical style as "neo-romantic".[1]
Selected recordings
Kubelík recorded a large repertory, in many cases more than once per work. There are two complete recordings of his traversals of three major symphony cycles – those of
Kubelík's complete discography is enormous, with music ranging from
In May 2018, Deutsche Grammophon released a 66-disc box-set of his complete recordings for the label.
Composer | Composition | Date | Orchestra | Recording |
---|---|---|---|---|
Berlioz | Les Troyens | 1957 | Coven Garden Opera Chorus, Coven Garden Orchestra | Testament |
Bartók | Concerto for Orchestra | 1974 | Boston Symphony Orchestra | Deutsche Grammophon |
Beethoven | Symphony No. 4 | 1975 | Israel Philharmonic Orchestra | |
Symphony No. 5 | 1973 | Boston Symphony Orchestra | ||
Symphony No. 6 "Pastorale"
|
Orchestre de Paris | |||
Symphony No. 7 | 1974 | Wiener Philharmoniker
| ||
Symphony No. 8 | 1975 | The Cleveland Orchestra
| ||
Symphony No. 9 "Choral"
|
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | |||
Berg | Violin Concerto | 1971 | ||
Brahms | A German Requiem | 1978 | Audite | |
Bruckner | Symphony No. 3 | 1954 | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Radio Netherlands
|
1985 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Sony Classical
| ||
Symphony No. 8 | 1963 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Orfeo | |
1977 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | BR Klassik | ||
Symphony No. 9 | 1985 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Orfeo | |
Dresden | Dansflitsen | 1954 | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Radio Netherlands |
Dvořák | Symphonic Variations | 1974 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon |
My Home, Overture | 1973-4 | |||
Hussite Dramatic overture | ||||
In Nature's Realm Concert Overture | ||||
Carnival Concert Overture | 1977 | |||
Othello Concert Overture | ||||
Scherzo capriccioso | 1975 | |||
Symphony No. 1 | 1973 | Berliner Philharmoniker | ||
Symphony No. 2 | ||||
Symphony No. 3 | ||||
Symphony No. 4 | ||||
Symphony No. 5 | ||||
Symphony No. 6 | ||||
Symphony No. 7 | 1950 | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Radio Netherlands | |
1971 | Berliner Philharmoniker | Deutsche Grammophon | ||
Symphony No. 8 | 1966 | |||
Symphony No. 9 | 1973 | |||
The Noon Witch | 1974 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | ||
The Water Goblin | ||||
The Wild Dove | ||||
1976 | ||||
Grieg | Piano Concerto | 1964 | Berliner Philharmoniker | |
Hindemith | Chamber Music No. 5 | 1966 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Bayerischer Rundfunk |
Concerto Music, Op. 48 | 1963 | |||
Der Schwanendreher | 1968 | |||
Janáček | Concertino | 1970 | Deutsche Grammophon | |
The Diary of One Who Disappeared | ||||
Glagolitic Mass | ||||
Sinfonietta | 1970 | |||
Taras Bulba | 1951 | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Radio Netherlands | |
1970 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon | ||
Mahler | Symphony No. 1 "Titan" | 1967 | ||
1979 | Bayerischer Rundfunk | |||
Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection" | 1969 | Deutsche Grammophon | ||
1982 | Bayerischer Rundfunk | |||
Symphony No. 3 | 1967 | Deutsche Grammophon | ||
Symphony No. 4 | 1968 | |||
Symphony No. 5 | 1971 | |||
1981 | Bayerischer Rundfunk | |||
Symphony No. 6 "Tragic" | 1968 | Deutsche Grammophon | ||
Symphony No. 7 | 1970 | |||
Symphony No. 8 "Symphony of a Thousand" | ||||
Symphony No. 9 | 1967 | |||
Symphony No. 10 | 1968 | |||
Mendelssohn | Violin Concerto | 1951 | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Radio Netherlands |
Mozart | Eine kleine Nachtmusik | 1962 | Wiener Philharmoniker | EMI |
Mass No. 9 in B Flat major KV 275 (Missa brevis) | 1973 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon | |
Symphony No. 36 KV 425 "Linz"
|
1962 | Wiener Philharmoniker | EMI | |
Rachmaninoff | Piano Concerto No. 2 | 1951 | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Radio Netherlands |
Schoenberg | Piano Concerto | 1972 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon |
Violin Concerto | ||||
Schubert | Symphony No. 9 | 1960 | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra | EMI |
Schumann | Symphonies | 1979 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | CBS / Sony Classical |
Piano Concerto | 1964 | Berliner Philharmoniker | Deutsche Grammophon | |
Smetana | Má vlast | 1971 | Boston Symphony Orchestra | |
Tansman | Music for Orchestra | 1950 | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Radio Netherlands |
Tchaikovsky | Symphony No. 4 | 1961 | Wiener Philharmoniker | EMI |
Verdi | Rigoletto | 1964 | Orchester del Teatro alla Scala | Deutsche Grammophon |
Wagner | Lohengrin | 1971 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | |
Weber | Der Freischütz | 1980 | Decca | |
Oberon | 1970 | Deutsche Grammophon |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Salter, Lionel. "Kubelík, Rafael", Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed 3 February 2013 (subscription required)
- ^ a b c "Obituary: Rafael Kubelík". The Times. 12 August 1996. p. 19.
- ^ Scharf, p. 114
- ^ Kennedy, pp. 306–307
- ^ Kenyon, p. 228
- ^ "Into the Fray". Time. 11 April 1969. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
- ^ Mermelstein, David (27 July 1997). "Gifted, Enigmatic and the Last of a Species". The New York Times.
- ^ Richard Freed, "Mercury 'Living Presence' Comes to Life Again," New York Times, September 30, 1990, Section 2, Page 28.
- ^ Haltrecht, p. 191
- ^ Rosenthal, p. 669
- ^ "Music Man for the Met". Time. 21 June 1971. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007.
- ^ "A Win for the Trojans". Time. 25 March 1974. Archived from the original on March 4, 2008.
- ^ "Wanted: Full-Time Help". Time. 25 February 1974. Archived from the original on March 4, 2008.
- ^ Villella, Frank (October 2015). "125 Moments: 005 Gala Centennial Finale". From the Archives. Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ^ Achenbach, Andrew. "Rafael Kubelík", www.classicalsource.com, accessed 3 February 2013
- ^ Barenboim, p. 223
- ^ "Tristan und Isolde". The Times. 5 June 1958. p. 16. and Mann, William (13 November 1971). "Parsifal and Son: with Kubelik and Boulez". The Times. p. 9.
Bibliography
- Barenboim, Daniel (2002). A Life in Music. London: Arcade Pub. ISBN 1-55970-674-0.
- Freeman, John W. "Music First," Opera News, May 2007, pp. 42–45.
- Haltrecht, Montague (1975). The Quiet Showman – Sir David Webster and the Royal Opera House. London: Collins. ISBN 0-00-211163-2.
- Kennedy, Michael (1971). Barbirolli, Conductor Laureate: The Authorised Biography. London: MacGibbon and Key. ISBN 0-261-63336-8.
- Kenyon, Nicholas (1981). The BBC Symphony Orchestra – The First Fifty Years, 1930–1980. London: British Broadcasting Corporation. ISBN 0563176172.
- Rosenthal, Harold (1958). Two Centuries of Opera at Covent Garden. London: Putnam. OCLC 185327768.
- Scharf, Albert (2006). "Rafael Kubelík: His Life and Achievement". "The golden era" of Rafael Kubelik: the Munich years 1961–1985. Kassel: Bärenreiter. ISBN 3761819129.
External links
- Rafael Kubelík at AllMusic
- Extensive discography
- František Sláma Archive – contains information on Kubelik under "Conductors – Part 2" in section "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Documents and Reminiscences"
- Arnold Schoenberg: Jakobsleiter conducted by Kubelik (YouTube)