The Bohemian Quartet ( cs, 'České kvarteto'; known as the Czech Quartet after 1918) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

of international repute that was founded in 1891 and disbanded in 1933.

Origins

The Quartet was founded in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

by three pupils of Antonín Bennewitz (

Karel Hoffmann Karel Hoffmann (12 December 1872, in Prague – 30 March 1936, in Prague) was a Czech violinist and music pedagogue, a founding member and first violinist of the Bohemian Quartet. In 1926–1927, he was appointed the rector of the Prague Conserva ...

, Josef Suk and

Oskar Nedbal Oskar Nedbal (26 March 1874 – 24 December 1930) was a Czech violist, composer, and conductor of classical music. Early life Nedbal was born in Tábor, in southern Bohemia. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Benne ...

) and a pupil of

Hanuš Wihan Hanuš Wihan (5 June 1855 – 1 May 1920) was a renowned Czech cellist, considered the greatest of his time. He was strongly associated with the works of Antonín Dvořák, whose Cello Concerto in B minor, Rondo in G minor, and the short pie ...

( Otakar Berger); Bennewitz and Wihan were both teachers at the

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory or Prague Conservatoire ( cs, Pražská konzervatoř) is a music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, Prague Conservatory offers four or six year study courses, which can be compared to the level ...

. Wihan had himself studied at Prague, and was cellist of the chamber quartet of

Ludwig II Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, becoming Professor at Prague in 1888. He replaced his student Otakar Berger as cellist in the quartet when Berger died prematurely. Wihan then directed the Quartet until 1913 when the strain of touring obliged him to retire from it and resume his teaching. His place was then taken by Ladislav Zelenka (b. 1881), who since 1911 had been playing with the Ševčík-Lhotský Quartet. In 1906, the violist Nedbal had run off with Hoffmann's wife;John White: ''Lionel Tertis. The First Great Virtuoso of the Viola'', Woodbridge 2006, p. 14. during the tour in England, his place was at short notice taken by

Lionel Tertis Lionel Tertis, CBE (29 December 187622 February 1975) was an English violist. He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame and a noted teacher. Career Tertis was born in West Hartlepool, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants ...

and afterwards formally by Jeří Herold. The group made repeated tours in Europe, especially with the quartets of Dvořák and Smetana, and were noted for their warm tone and fiery rhythms. In 1922 the four members were appointed professors at the Prague Conservatory. The group disbanded with a concert on 4 December 1933, to honour Suk’s 60th birthday. Many key contemporary works were written for and/or first performed by the Bohemian Quartet. Most notably, this included works by

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

and

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European fol ...

, such as Janáček's second string quartet, subtitled "''Intimate Letters''".

Personnel

;1st violin *

;2nd violin * Josef Suk (to 1933) * Stanislav Novák (1933–34) ;Viola *

(to 1906) *

Jiří Herold Jiří (; ''YI-RZHEE''), the Czech is a masculine given name, equivalent to English George, may refer to: Given name B *Jiří Antonín Benda *Jiří Baborovský *Jiří Barta *Jiří Bartoška *Jiří Bicek * Jiří Bobok *Jiří Bubla *Jiří ...

(1906–1934) ;Violoncello * Otto Berger (to 1894) *

(1894–1914) * Ladislav Zelenka (1914–1934)

Recordings

* Smetana: Quartet no. 1 in E minor (1876) (Polydor 78rpm, 95076-95079). (as 'Bohemian Quartet') * Smetana: Quartet no. 2 in D minor (1882) (Pathé 78rpm X 86005-86008) (Private recording for Czech Academy). * Dvořák: Quartet no 6 in F major op 96 (Polydor 78rpm, 95084-95086). (as 'Bohemian (Suk) Quartet') * Dvořák: Quartet no 3 in E flat major op 51, Dumka only (Polydor 78rpm, 95087).(ditto) * Suk: Quartet no 1 in B major op 11 (Polydor 78rpm, 95080-95083).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bohemian Quartet Musical groups established in 1891 Czech string quartets 1891 establishments in Austria-Hungary

Origins

Personnel

Recordings

References

Further reading

See also

External links