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.