2015 The Talich Quartet ( cs, Talichovo kvarteto) 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 ...

founded in 1964, which has won several

Grand Prix du Disque Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

awards.

Personnel

;Violin I * Jan Talich, Sr. (founder, 1964–1970) * Petr Messiereur (1970–1997) *

Jan Talich file:Quatuor Talic 02291.jpg, Jan Talich Jan Talich, Jr. (born 11 March 1967 in Prague) is Czech violinist and Conducting, conductor. Talich studied at the Prague Conservatory and later at the Prague Academy of Music under Václav Snítil. He rec ...

, Jr. (1997 to present) ;Violin II * Jan Kvapil (original, 1964–1994) * Vladimir Bukač (1994–2000) * Petr Maceček (2000 to 2011) * Roman Patočka (2011 to present) ;Viola * Jiří Najnar (original, 1964–) * Karel Doležal (until ?1970) * Jan Talich, Sr. (?1970–2000) * Vladimír Bukač (2000 to 2017) * Radim Sedmidubský (2018 to present) ;Cello * Evžen Rattay (original, 1964–1997) * Petr Prause (1997 to 2019) * Michal Kaňka (2019 to present)

Activities

The Talich Quartet was founded in 1964 by Jan Talich, Sr. (1945–2020) while still a student at

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 ...

, and named after his famous uncle

Václav Talich Václav Talich (; 28 May 1883, Kroměříž – 16 March 1961, Beroun) was a Czech violinist and later a musical pedagogue. He is remembered today as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, the object of countless reissues of his man ...

(1883-1961), the conductor and founder of the

Czech Philharmonic The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title ...

. They have performed at the

Prague Spring International Music 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 ...

and

Casals Festival The Casals Festival is a classical music event celebrated every year in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in honor of classical musician Pablo Casals. Background The festival was founded in 1956 by Pablo Casals. It was promoted by Teodoro Moscoso and David ...

. Specializing in works by Czech

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

s, they have premièred works by Viktor Kalabis,

Luboš Fišer Luboš Fišer (30 September 1935 – 22 June 1999) was a Czech composer, born in Prague. He was known both for his soundtracks and chamber music. From 1952 to 1956 he studied composition at the Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory ...

and

Luboš Sluka Luboš Sluka (born on September 13, 1928, in Opočno) is a Czech contemporary composer. Life and career Lubos Sluka was admitted to Prague Conservatory where he completed his studies in three subjects - percussion, conducting and composition. In 1 ...

. The quartet played for the first time in Paris on March 6 1975, with such success that they were invited to the United States in June 1976. However their North American debut is said to have been made in 1987. They made many records for

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses" ...

and at least one with

Collins Classics Collins Classics is a record label which specialises in classical music. It was founded in 1989 as a musical subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers and distributed through Pinnacle Entertainment (United Kingdom). Artists who recorded for the ...

. Their first Calliope recordings, of Dvořák String Quartets Opp. 61 and 96, and of the

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 ...

Clarinet Quintet with Bohuslav Zahradník and String Quartet, K 156, won the ''Grand Prix du Disque de l'Académie Charles Cros'' for 1977. Their ''intégrale'' (complete cycle) of

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 ...

quartets was recorded between the late 1970s and the early 1980s.Calliope LPs CAL 1631 through 1640. The Mozart recording, and the Beethoven String Quartets Opp. 127 and 135 (CAL 1640), both won ''Diapason d'or'' awards.

Notes

External links

Talich Quartet website

Calliope website
* Czech string quartets Musical groups established in 1964 1964 establishments in Czechoslovakia {{Classical-ensemble-stub