Antonín Kohout (12 December 1919 – 15 February 2013) was a Czech cellist and founder of the

Smetana Quartet The Smetana Quartet ( cs, Smetanovo kvarteto) was a Czech string quartet that was in existence from 1945 to 1989. Personnel 1st violin * Václav Neumann (1920-1995), from 1943 to 1945 * Jaroslav Rybenský, from 1945 to 1947 * Jiří Novák (192 ...

Life

Kohout was born in Lubná in 1919. He studied with the cellist Karel Pravoslav Sádlo 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 ...

; in 1941 at the Conservatory he met the violinist

Václav Neumann Václav Neumann (29 October 1920 – 2 September 1995) was a Czech conductor, violinist, violist, and opera director. Life and career Neumann was born in Prague, where he studied at the Prague Conservatory with Josef Micka (violin), and Pav ...

, who invited him to join an amateur quartet. After changes of personnel the quartet, by then known as the Smetana Quartet, first performed professionally on 6 November 1945 at the Prague Municipal Library, with violinists Jaroslav Rybenský and Lubomír Kostecký, Neumann playing viola and Kohout playing cello; they played quartets by

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded i ...

and

Vítězslav Novák Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and academic teacher at the Prague Conservatory. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important ...

. Kohout later said, "Our ideal was the Czech character of Smetana's music."Antonín Kohout obituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', 26 February 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2018. Neumann left in 1947 to pursue a conducting career, and there were other changed of personnel in later years. The quartet was affiliated to 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 titl ...

. From 1949, taking the example of the

Kolisch Quartet The Kolisch Quartet was a string quartet musical ensemble founded in Vienna, originally (early 1920s) as the New Vienna String Quartet for the performance of Schoenberg's works, and (by 1927) settling to the form in which it was later known. It had ...

and the

Quartetto Italiano The Quartetto Italiano ( en, Italian Quartet) was a string quartet founded in Reggio Emilia in 1945. They made their debut in 1945 in Carpi when all four players were still in their early 20s. They were originally named Nuovo Quartetto Italiano ...

, they performed without the printed music; this continued until 1974, from which time they played only their Czech repertoire from memory. From the 1950s the quartet toured extensively, and made many recordings. They were noted for playing works by Czech composers, including contemporary composers, and also played quartets by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert. From 1967 Kohout and the other quartet members taught at the

Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague ( cs, Akademie múzických umění v Praze, AMU) is a university in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic, specialising in the study of music, dance, drama, film, television and multi-media. It is the larg ...

.Smetana Quartet cellist dies
''

The Strad ''The Strad'' is a UK-based monthly classical music magazine about string instrumentsprincipally the violin, viola, cello and double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the large ...

'', 15 February 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2018. In 1976, the quartet recorded, in Praha, two Leos Janacek's Quatuor à Cordes (Supraphon). Kohout remained in the Smetana Quartet until its dissolution in 1989. He taught and was a mentor for later Czech quartets, including the

Wihan Quartet The Wihan Quartet ( cs, Wihanovo kvarteto) is a Czech string quartet currently in residence at the Trinity College of Music, London. The quartet was founded at the Prague Academy of Musical Arts in 1985 by Leoš Čepický (violin), Jan Schulmeister ...

, the

Pražák Quartet The Pražák Quartet (in Czech: Pražákovo 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 onward ...

, the

Kocian Quartet The Kocián Quartet is a Czech classical chamber ensemble. Originally named the New String Quartet, it was founded in 1972 by three members of the Prague Symphony Orchestra (Jan Odstrčil – 2nd violin, Jiří Najnar – viola, Václav Bernášek ...

, the

Panocha Quartet The Panocha Quartet ( cs, Panochovo kvarteto) is a Czech string quartet. History The Panocha Quartet was formed at the Prague Conservatory in 1968 from a trio consisting of Jiří Panocha (violin), Jaroslav Hlůže (viola), and Jaroslav Kulhan ( ...

and the

Talich Quartet 2015 The Talich Quartet ( cs, Talichovo kvarteto) is a Czech string quartet founded in 1964, which has won several Grand Prix du Disque awards. Personnel ;Violin I * Jan Talich, Sr. (founder, 1964–1970) * Petr Messiereur (1970–1997) * Jan T ...

. Kohout died in Prague in 2013, aged 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohout, Antonin 1919 births 2013 deaths People from Rakovník District Czech classical cellists 20th-century classical musicians Czechoslovak musicians 20th-century cellists