Mathilde von Kralik studied counterpoint privately with Anton Bruckner, a distinguished professor at the Vienna Conservatory, who had great respect for her talent.
Critical Reception
Critical response to Mathilde von Kralik's music was mostly positive, even from Eduard Hanslick, a notoriously picky Viennese critic, though reviewers sometimes couched their praise within the context of prejudice against women composers.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Many of Mathilde von Kralik's art songs and choral works, including 17 of the 26 selections on this album, are settings of poetry by her older brother, Richard von Kralik, a noted poet, historian, and cultural philosopher.
Composer Biography
Mathilde von Kralik claimed J.S. Bach as her main 'Lehrmeister' (teaching master) and Franz Liszt, whom she knew personally, as her primary 'modern' influence.
Composition History
The album's title song, "Komm mit Mir," is Richard von Kralik's composed marriage proposal to Maja Flattich, the woman he married, making it perhaps the only one of its kind.
Composer Biography
Mathilde von Kralik, the composer featured on this album, was born in Linz, Austria, in 1857 to a wealthy Bohemian glass manufacturer.
Composer Biography
Mathilde von Kralik's father was granted the title 'Ritter' (knight) by Emperor Franz Josef I for his prominence as an industrialist, but she had to give up the 'noble' version of her name after World War I.
