Rafael Kubelík first conducted the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1933 at nineteen years of age. Over the next six decades, the Býchory-born musician established himself as a central figure in European and American classical music, serving as music director for major ensembles in Chicago, London, and Munich while maintaining a prolific output as a neo-romantic composer.
Early Career and Nazi Occupation
Trained at the Prague Conservatory in violin, piano, conducting, and composition, Kubelík graduated in 1933. By 1939, he held the position of music director at the Brno Opera. Following the closure of that company by Nazi authorities in 1941, he returned to the Czech Philharmonic as its principal conductor. During the war years, he avoided Nazi collaboration by refusing to perform works by Wagner and eschewing mandated political gestures, eventually going into hiding in the countryside to evade the Gestapo.
Twenty questions, eight minutes on the clock, and a percentile measured against everyone who has taken it. No sign-up.
Take the IQ test →Exile and Defection
The 1948 Communist coup in Czechoslovakia prompted Kubelík to leave his homeland, vowing not to return until the country achieved liberation. He defected during a trip to Britain, where he had been engaged to conduct Mozart at the Edinburgh Festival. The Communist regime subsequently convicted him in absentia. Despite persistent invitations to return, he remained in exile, eventually becoming a Swiss citizen in 1967 and organizing an international artistic boycott against the Soviet-led occupation following the Prague Spring.
International Appointments
Kubelík served as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1950 to 1953, where he introduced numerous contemporary works. Following this, he led The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, from 1955 to 1958, highlighted by the 1957 production of Berlioz’s Les Troyens. His most sustained tenure occurred with the Bayerischer Rundfunk in Munich, where he served as music director from 1961 to 1979. He died in 1996 in Kastanienbaum, Switzerland, and is buried at the Vyšehrad cemetery in Prague.
Fast facts
- Born: 1914, Býchory
- Died: 1996, Kastanienbaum
- Educated: Prague Conservatory
- Citizenship: Czechoslovakia, later Swiss
- Major Roles: Music director in Chicago, Covent Garden, and Munich
- Notable Award: Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 1996
- Final Resting Place: Vyšehrad cemetery, Slavín
Questions readers ask
Why did Rafael Kubelík leave Czechoslovakia?
He left in 1948 to avoid living under the Communist regime, which he categorized as a second tyranny following his experience with Nazism.
What genres of music did he compose?
Kubelík composed in a neo-romantic idiom, producing five operas, three symphonies, as well as various choral works, songs, and chamber music.
Achievements
- Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, 1st class — 1991
- Léonie Sonning Music Prize — 1983
- Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire — 1996
- Bavarian Order of Merit — 1966
- Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany — 1974
- Instruments: violin
- Genres: classical music and opera
