The Martinů Quartet ( cs, Kvarteto Martinů) is a 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 ...

ensemble founded in 1976, originally under the name ''Havlák Quartet'' by students of Professor Viktor Moučka 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 ...

. In 1985, with the approval of th
Bohuslav Martinů Foundation
the quartet assumed its present name ''Martinů Quartet'', pledging to promote the chamber music of Czech composer

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He bec ...

. The quartet specialises in the works of Czech composers such as Smetana, Dvořák and Janáček, and especially the works of Bohuslav Martinů. They perform regularly at the

Prague Spring Festival The Prague Spring International Music Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní hudební festival Pražské jaro, commonly cs, Pražské jaro, Prague Spring) is a classical music festival held every year in Prague, Czech Republic, with symphony orchestras an ...

as well as concerts in many European Countries, the United States, Canada and Japan. The quartet also teaches chamber music performance at two annual chamber music workshops in the Czech Republic, which are open to both amateur and professional musicians.

Members

*Lubomír Havlák, first violin *Adéla Štajnochrová, second violin *Zbyněk Paďourek, viola *Jitka Vlašánková, violoncello

Awards

The Martinů Quartet took part in eight international chamber music competitions and won awards at each event, most notably at the

and the competitions held in Evian, Florence, Munich (ARD) and Portsmouth. In 2001, the quartet was awarded the Bohuslav Martinů Price by the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation in recognition of the quartet's achievement promoting the chamber music of Bohuslav Martinů. In 2003, the quartet's recording of Sylvie Bodorová's ''Terezín Ghetto Requiem'' received th
Music Web UK's ''Recording of the month''
award. In 2004, the quartet received the celebrated

MIDEM Midem is the acronym for Marché International du Disque et de l'Édition Musicale, which is organised annually in and around the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France. The trade show, organized by Reed MIDEM, a subsidiary of Re ...

award in Cannes for the best CD of the year in the category ''solo and ensemble repertoire of the 20th century''.

Recordings

The Martinů Quartet has released more than 20 CDs on major classical music labels, most notably on

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

, but also Arcos Diva,

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group. Its Latin name ''ha ...

and others. In addition to recordings for release on CD, they have also recorded for radio broadcasts by

Czech Radio Český rozhlas (ČRo) is the public radio broadcaster of the Czech Republic operating since 1923. It is the oldest radio broadcaster in continental Europe and the second oldest in Europe after the BBC. The service broadcasts throughout the Cz ...

Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed with a wide variety of ...

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

, ARD and

ORF ORF or Orf may refer to: * Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF * Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute * One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel * Open reading frame, a portion of the ...

. The quartet's most highly acclaimed CD releases are * The complete string quartets by Bohuslav Martinů, released in 3 volumes on Naxos ** Vol.1, string quartets ''Tri jezdci'', #1 and #2 in 1995, #8.553782
Review on ''Classics Today''
** Vol.2, string quartets #3 and #6 in 1996, #8.553783
Review on ''Classics Today''
** Vol.3, string quartets #4, #5 and #7 in 1997, #8.553784
Review on ''Classics Today''
* ''Terezín Ghetto Requiem'' by Sylvie Bodorová and string quartet by Ronald Stevenson, released on Arco Diva in 2003, #UP 0052-2 131 * Piano quintets and violin sonatas by Bohuslav Martinů, released on Naxos in 2007, #8.557861
Review on ''Classics Today''

Publications

The Martinů Quartet has been featured in multiple non-trivial published works in reliable and reputable media such as the Czech online musical encyclopedia published by the music faculty of

Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) ( cs, Masarykova univerzita; la, Universitas Masarykiana Brunensis) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the seco ...

of Brno, the Grove musical encyclopedia published by

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''Classic Today'' magazine, ''Music Web UK'' and others.

External links

Martinů Quartet website

PLAYWIP chamber music workshop

Sources

''Kvarteto Martinů'' entry in the musical encyclopedia published by the Music Faculty of Masaryk University in Brno
* Grove musical encyclopedia published by Oxford University (access to online version restricted to paying subscribers) * ''Classics Today''
MIDEM 2004 Award winners
* ''Music Web UK''

* Article in ''The New Yorker'', February 24, 2003 * Article by Michael Beckerman in ''The New York Times'', June 15, 2003 * Article by Tim Ashley in ''The Guardian'', May 11, 2007 * Article by Carl Bauman, ''American Record Guide'', September/October 2000 * Articles by Jan Smaczny, ''BBC Music Magazine'', October 2000 and February 2003 * Article by Bob McQuiston, ''Classical Lost and Found'', April 2007 * Archives of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (AMU) * Archives of the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation in Prague and Basel * Archives of the Prague Spring International Music Festival * Archives of the ARD broadcasting corporation
''Kvarteto Martinů'' entry at Žižkov's music festival website
* ''Under the Linden'' Festiva

* Martinů Quarte
profile
* Naxos artist

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinu Quartet Czech string quartets Musical groups established in 1976 1976 establishments in Czechoslovakia