The Janáček Quartet ( cs, Janáčkovo kvarteto) is 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 ...

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, ...

founded in 1947 which is still currently active.

Origins and activities

The Janáček Quartet was formed in 1947 by students of Váša Černý at the Conservatory of

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

, originally under the name ''JAMU Quartet''. The quartet initially concentrated mainly on Janáček's chamber works. In 1949, the ensemble changed its name to Janáček Quartet, after the

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

n composer

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 ...

. Trávníček had some musical ties with him (he was a student of František Kudláček, a member of ''Moravian Quartet'' that premiered Janáček’s String Quartet No. 2., "Intimate Letters" and edited the work in cooperation with the composer). The substitution of Adolf Sýkora for Miroslav Matyáš in 1952 was the only personnel change during the first twenty-five years, until the death of Jiří Trávníček in 1973. Winning a competition in the former

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

in 1955 opened the door to great concert halls and since then they have gained international recognition. Recordings by the quartet have won numerous awards, including the Grand Prix of the Charles Cros Academy, and the

Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award") was established in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of setting the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field ...

(both for recording of Janáček’s string quartets). The Janáček Quartet has made recordings for

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

, Supraphon, Eterna,

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

and other labels. The quartet is unusual among string quartets in performing without sheet music, from memory. It is also noted for a distinctive style of playing.

Personnel

1st violin *Jiří Trávníček (1947–1973) *Bohumil Smejkal (1973– ? ) *Miloš Vacek (current) 2nd violin *Miroslav Matyáš (1947–1952) *Adolf Sýkora (1952–(after 1973)) *Vítězslav Zavadilík (current) viola *Jiří Kratochvíl (1947–(after 1973)) *Ladislav Kyselák (1989–2008) *Jan Řezníček (current) cello *Karel Krafka (1947–(after 1973)) *Břetislav Vybíral (current)

References

*Adolf Sýkora: Z mého života v Janáčkově kvartetu. Brno: Opus musicum, 2007. *Janáček/Novák: String Quartets CD. Supraphon Archive SU 3460-2111

External links

* http://www.janacekquartet.com// Czech string quartets Musical groups established in 1947 1947 establishments in Czechoslovakia {{Classical-ensemble-stub