Rafael Kubelík
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Rafael Jeroným Kubelík (Býchory, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, today Czech Republic, June 29, 1914 – August 11, 1996 in Kastanienbaum, Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland) was a Czech conductor and composer.
He was the son of the great violinist Jan Kubelík. He studied at the conservatory in Prague. From 1936 to 1939 and again from 1942 to 1948 he was conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. With the rise of the Communists following World War II, he left Czechoslovakia (he became a citizen of Switzerland in 1967).
Kubelik eventually became conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1950 to 1953 (reportedly a frustrating experience both for him and the orchestra), music director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden from 1955 to 1958, of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1961 to 1979, and of the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, from 1972 to 1974. As a conductor, he recorded the cycle of Robert Schumann's symphonies on two occasions (for Deutsche Grammophon [1963-1964] and for Sony Classical [1979]). His complete cycle of the Gustav Mahler's symphonies (recorded from 1967 to 1971) is still highly regarded.
Kubelik was a lifelong champion of Czech composers Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, and Leoš Janáček. During the 1960s he recorded a highly acclaimed cycle of Dvořák's symphonies for Deutsche Grammophon with the Berlin Philharmonic and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and made multiple recordings of Smetana's nationalist cycle of tone poems Má Vlast ("My Country"). In a triumphant return to Prague in 1990 after the fall of Communism, he recorded the cycle live with the Czech Philharmonic for Supraphon, now widely considered the composition's definitive performance.
Among his compositions are five operas, a number of symphonies, and chamber music.
On his death in 1996, he was interred in the Vyšehrad cemetery in Prague.
[edit] Recordings
| Composer | Composition | Date | Orchestra | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahler | Symphony No. 1 | 1967 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon |
| Mahler | Symphony No. 2 | 1969 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon |
| Mahler | Symphony No. 3 | 1967 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon |
| Mahler | Symphony No. 4 | 1968 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon |
| Mahler | Symphony No. 5 | 1971 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon |
| Mahler | Symphony No. 6 | 1968 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon |
| Mahler | Symphony No. 7 | 1970 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon |
| Mahler | Symphony No. 8 | 1970 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon |
| Mahler | Symphony No. 9 | 1967 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon |
| Mahler | Symphony No. 10 | 1968 | Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks | Deutsche Grammophon |
| Preceded by: Václav Talich |
Principal Conductor, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra 1942–1948 |
Succeeded by: Karel Ančerl |
| Preceded by: Artur Rodziński |
Music Director, Chicago Symphony Orchestra 1950–1953 |
Succeeded by: Fritz Reiner |
| Preceded by: Karl Rankl |
Music Director, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden 1955–1958 |
Succeeded by: Georg Solti |
| Preceded by: Eugen Jochum |
Chief Conductor, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra 1961–1979 |
Succeeded by: Sir Colin Davis |
