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Raphael KubelikCzech and Swiss conductor and composer
Date of Birth: 29.06.1914
Country:  Switzerland |
Content:
Biography of Rafael Kubelik
Rafael Kubelik was a Czech and Swiss conductor and composer. Born in Býchory, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, Kubelik was the sixth child of Bohemian violinist Jan Kubelík and his wife, a Hungarian countess. His father introduced him to music and taught him to play the violin. At the age of 13, Kubelik entered the Prague Conservatory, where he studied violin, conducting, and composition.
Early Career
In 1933, at the age of 19, Kubelik graduated from the conservatory, performing Paganini's violin concerto and one of his own compositions for violin and orchestra at his final concert. Although he excelled at the violin, Kubelik also had a talent for piano and accompanied his father during his concert tour in the United States in 1935. In 1939, Kubelik became a conductor at the Brno Opera, a position he held until the arrival of the Nazis on November 12, 1941. Forced to leave Brno, Kubelik joined the Czech Philharmonic, where he had previously conducted at the age of 20 in 1934, and became its principal conductor.
Resistance against the Nazis
By 1944, Kubelik had clashed with the Nazi regime. He refused to salute the Reich protector with a Hitler salute and never conducted any works by Wagner during his time with the Czech Philharmonic. Sensing danger, Kubelik decided to temporarily leave Prague and seek refuge in a rural area to avoid falling into the hands of the SS or Gestapo. Fortunately, Nazi Germany was eventually defeated, and in May 1945, Kubelik became a conductor in the first post-war concert.
Exile and Return
In 1948, when the communists came to power in Czechoslovakia, Kubelik decided to leave the country. He vowed not to return until it was free. He severed all ties with his homeland during a trip to the United Kingdom, where he conducted Mozart's "Don Giovanni" at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Kubelik and his wife surrendered their Czech passports upon arriving in London. In 1953, the communist government accused them of "illegal departure." In 1956, the country's leaders asked Kubelik to return, promising to fulfill all his wishes, but he refused. A year later, he organized an international boycott in response to the Prague Spring and the subsequent Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Return to Prague
After the fall of the communist regime in 1990, Kubelik finally returned to Prague. He even resumed his position as the conductor of the Czech Philharmonic for the Prague Spring Festival. During his exile, Kubelik collaborated closely with several American and European orchestras. However, health problems forced him to limit his musical activities, and he only performed on important occasions, such as the Prague Festival in 1990. Rafael Kubelik passed away on August 1, 1996, in Kastanienbaum, in the Canton of Lucerne, Switzerland.
