Compositions for Flute Solo

Kabelac Compositions for Flute Solo

Miloslav Kabeláč composed only three chamber works for flute - two of them (for flute solo) are now published by Bärenreiter Prague. 

The Little Suite (Partita piccolo), Op.13 was written by Kabeláč in January 1944 while he was working on the Second Symphony - he wanted to try out a piece for unaccompanied single instrument.  He had thought it out and prepared it in sketches, and the movements are relatively short, so that a clean copy of the piece was produced very quickly. 

The Improvisation on a Theme of His Own, Op.29b, whose theme Kabeláč took from the third movement of the Six Lullabies, Op.29, was written in 1956.  The Improvisation's title should not lead to misunderstanding - it does not involve the use of aleatorics, which would allow the performer a certain freedom to perform according to his own fancy within a given framework.  Here, on the contrary, everything is precisely written down; however, the development of the piece is meant to give the impression of free improvisation.  

Both works are published in print for the first time under autograph, as Volume 5 of Series IV of the Complete Critical Edition of the Works of Miloslav Kabeláč. 

Miloslav Kabelac (1908-1979), Czech composer and conductor, entered Prague Technical University in 1926 but did not finish his studies there. He took private piano lessons from Mikeš and from 1928 studied at the Prague Conservatory - composition with K.B.Jirák, conducting with Dedecek, counterpoint and new composition techniques with Hába and instrumentation with Schulhoff. In 1931-34 he attended V.Kurz´s piano masterclass at the Conservatory.

From 1932 to 1941 Kabelác worked as a recording director for Prague radio. He became recognized conductor, particularly of the 20th-century music. During the Second World War he had to leave the position in radio because of his wife´s Jewish origin. He returned there after the war and stayed until 1957. In 1958-62 he taught composition at the Prague Conservatory - his pupils included Ivana Loudová, Jaroslav Krcek, Zdenek Lukáš, Lukáš Matoušek, or Jan Málek.

As a protest against Czechoslovakia´s occupation by Nazi Germany he composed the cantata Neustupujte (Do not Retreat!, 1939) which was his first outstanding work. He used the texts of several folk songs from K.J.Erben´s collection from the time of the Prussian invasions of Bohemia in the mid-18th century, and the famous 15th-centrury Hussite chorale Ktož sú boží bojovníci (Ye Who Are God´s Warriors). The cantata is dedicated "To the Czech people" and it is one of the most personal and most effective of Kabelác´s compositions.