The Tátrai Quartet was a Hungarian classical

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 1946. For the half-century after World War II it was one of the foremost string quartets in Hungary, specializing in

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 ...

and Bartók, whose complete quartets it recorded for Hungaroton,

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 ...

and

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 ...

as well, and were also responsible for first performances of works by certain Hungarian composers.

Personnel

The membership of the quartet changed several times, but was led for its first 40 years by Vilmos Tátrai. *1 violin: **

Vilmos Tátrai Vilmos Tátrai (7 October 1912 – 2 February 1999) was a Hungarian classical violinist and the founder of the Tátrai Quartet. Life Tátrai was born in Kispest, now 19th district of Budapest. A professor at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, he f ...

*2 violin: **Mihály Szűcs (active 1957, in Kodály recording) (in Bartók recordings) **István Várkonyi (active 1972, in Schubert quintet recording) *viola: **József Iványi (active 1957, in Kodály recording) **György Konrád (active 1964, in Haydn Opus 76 recording) *cello: **Ede Banda

Origins and activities

Vilmos Tátrai (1912-1999), Professor in the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music ( hu, Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the ...

, founded the quartet in 1946 with leading members of the Budapest Capital Orchestra, later called the Hungarian State Concert Orchestra. Mihály Szűcs was concertmaster of the State Opera House, György Konrád was solo violist of the State Concert Orchestra, and Ede Banda was a professor at the Academy of Music and solo cellist of the State Concert Orchestra.Bartók Piano Quintet recording sleevenotes, Hungaroton LPX 11518 (Academie du Disque Francais Grand Prix), date not stated. The quartet won first prize at the Bartók String Quartet Competition in 1948. Tátrai soon afterwards took the first violin desk at the

Hungarian State Orchestra The Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra ( hu, Nemzeti Filharmonikus Zenekar; formerly, the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, hu, Magyar Állami Hangversenyzenekar) is one of the most prestigious symphony orchestras in Hungary. Based in t ...

and was still occupying it in 1982. In 1957 Tátrai founded the

Hungarian Chamber Orchestra Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the assignm ...

, which has no conductor, and remained its leader for more than two decades. The quartet was awarded the

Kossuth Prize The Kossuth Prize ( hu, Kossuth-díj) is a state-sponsored award in Hungary, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionist Lajos Kossuth. The Prize was established in 1948 (on occasion of the centenary of the March 15th revolution, the ...

in 1958. By 1982 it had given the first performances of 72 Hungarian works and the Hungarian premieres of 64 works by foreign composers. The group had a repertoire of over 300 works and a history of more than 2000 performances. Their (more than 72) recordings on the

Hungaroton Hungaroton is the oldest record and music publisher company in Hungary. Hungaroton was founded in 1951, when its only competitors in the Hungarian music market were record labels like Melodiya, Supraphon and from other socialist countries. Pre ...

, Telefunken, and Muza labels include extensive surveys of Beethoven, Bartók, Mozart and Haydn.

Sources

*Explanatory note in: J. Haydn: 6 "Apponyi" Quartets, op 71/74 (Hungaroton SLPX 12246-12248), Insert booklet . (Published in Hungary 1982). Hungarian string quartets Musical groups established in 1946 {{Classical-ensemble-stub