The Hungarian String Quartet was a

musical ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

of world renown, particularly famous for its performances of quartets by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

and Bartók. The quartet was founded in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

in 1935 (as the New Hungarian Quartet) and was disbanded in 1972.

Members

Origins

The Quartet was originally brought together when two students of

Jenő Hubay Jenő Hubay, Jenő Hubay von Szalatna, hu, szalatnai Hubay Jenő (; 15 September 185812 March 1937), also known by his Germany, German name Eugen Huber (), was a Hungarian violinist, composer and music teacher. Early life Hubay was born i ...

Sándor Végh Sándor Végh (17 May 19126 January 1997) was a Hungarian, later French, violinist and conductor. He was best known as one of the great chamber music violinists of the twentieth century. Education Sándor Végh was born in 1912 in Kolozsvár, Tr ...

on violin and Dénes Koromzay on violaas well as violinist

Zoltán Székely Zoltán Székely ( Hungarian: Székely Zoltán; 8 December 1903 in Kocs, Hungary – 5 October 2001 in Banff, Canada) was a violinist and composer. Biography Székely studied violin with Jenő Hubay and composition with Zoltán Kodály at the ...

and violoncellist Pál Hermann, were recruited in 1937. At that point Sándor Végh moved to the second violin desk, and in 1940 he left to found the

Végh Quartet The Végh Quartet was a Hungary, Hungarian string quartet founded in 1940 and led by its first violinist Sándor Végh for 40 years. The quartet was based in Budapest until it departed Hungary in 1946. It is particularly known for its recordings o ...

. He was then replaced by the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n Alexandre Moszkowsky. The Quartet had made its debut in 1935, and met with swift success. Szekely was a friend of

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

's, and the group became rapidly known by giving the Hungarian première performance of the Bartok 5th Quartet, which it studied with the composer. By 1938, the group had been heard in every major city of Western Europe. During the war they were trapped in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and devoted the period to the intensive study of the

quartets, which were subsequently launched upon the world in the brilliant career which the group achieved after 1945. In 1950 they settled in the USA. In around 1956 the cello, and around 1960 the second violin desk, was reassigned, and in this new form the Quartet continued to maintain its busy programme of performance until 1972, while also undertaking teaching positions and the coaching of younger instrumentalists. In 1957, the newly configured Quartet performed in Boston for the

Peabody Mason Concert Benefactor The name Peabody Mason comes from Miss Fanny Peabody Mason, who until her death in 1948 was an active patron of music both in the United States and abroad. Her musical interests were piano, singing and chamber music. Concert series ...

series. In 1958 the quartet completed a Southern Africa tour, much appreciated by the local audience In the 1966 issue recordings of the Beethoven cycle, it is stated that Székely plays the 'Michelangelo'

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are co ...

(1718), Kuttner plays the 'Santa Theresa' Petrus Guarnerius (1704), Koromzay plays a 1766 instrument by M. Decanet, and Magyar has a cello by Alessandro Gagliano of 1706.

References

Recordings

(Examples) *

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

: ''Quartet in D minor 'Death and the Maiden' D 810'' (Nixa LP CLP 1152) (About 1952). * Schubert: ''Quartet in D minor 'Death and the Maiden' D 810'' (Vox LP STPL 512.520). * Schubert: ''Quartet in C major D 887'' (Columbia CX 1566) (EMG review Sep 1958). * Schubert: ''Quintet in A major D 667 'The Trout with

Louis Kentner Louis Philip Kentner (19 July 190523 September 1987) was a Hungarian, later British, pianist who excelled in the works of Chopin and Liszt, as well as the Hungarian repertoire. Life and career He was born Lajos Kentner in Karwin in Austrian S ...

, Georg Hörtnagel (Vox STPL 512.690). *

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

: ''Quintet in E flat major op 44'', with George Solchany, piano. (Székely-Moszkowsky-Koromzay-Magyar) (Discophiles Français LP DF 730.030). *

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

: ''Quartets op 64 no 5; op 76 no 2'' (Columbia LP CX 1527) (EMG review July 1958). * Haydn: ''Quartets in D major op 64 no 5; in F major op 77 no 2'' (Vox STPL 512.080). *

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

: ''Quartets in E flat major K 428; in A major K 464'' (Columbia LP CX 1599). (EMG reviews May 1959). * Mozart: ''Quartets in B flat major K 458; in C major K 475'' (STPL 512.130). *

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

: ''Quartet no 1 in D major op 11'' (Columbia LP CX 1581). (EMG review March 1959). *

Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin ( rus, link=no, Александр Порфирьевич Бородин, Aleksandr Porfir’yevich Borodin , p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲi rʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin, a=RU-Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.ogg, ...

: ''Quartet no 2 in D major'' (Columbia LP CX 1581). (EMG review March 1959). * Kodály: ''Quartet no 2 in D major'' (Columbia LP CX 1614) (EMG review Jan 1959). *

Villa-Lobos Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5, 1887November 17, 1959) was a Brazilian composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the ...

: ''Quartet no 6'' (Columbia LP CX 1614) (EMG review Jan 1959). * Bartók: ''The 6 string Quartets'' (Deutsche Grammophon 138650, 138651 & 138652, 1962). There are two complete cycles of the

quartets, both recorded in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

: * Mono 1953 set with the Székely-Moszkowsky-Koromzay-Palotai line-up. * Stereo set (1960s) with the Székely-Kuttner-Koromzay-Magyar group. In UK this was issued on

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

in 1966 in the HQS series.

Sources

* E.M.G., ''The Art of Record Buying 1960'' (EMG, London 1960). * E. Sackville-West and D. Shawe-Taylor, ''The Record Year 2'' (Collins, London 1953). * R. Stowell, '' The Cambridge Companion to the String Quartet'' (Cambridge 2003). * Hungarian Quartet, ''Beethoven Quartet recordings'' (HMV, Hayes 1966). (Sleevenotes.) * Hungarian Quartet, ''Schubert D 810 recording'' (Vox, New York STPL 512.520). (Sleevenotes.) * C. Kenneson, ''Székely and Bartok: the story of a friendship'' (Amadeus Publications 1994). * Obituary of Koromza

an
archived
* Obituary of Székel

* Buffalo Chamber Music Society checklist of date

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hungarian Quartet Musical groups established in 1935 Hungarian string quartets