The Bartók Quartet is a Hungarian

string quartet The term string quartet refers 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 Violin, violini ...

ensemble, founded in 1963 in Budapest as the successor ensemble of the Komlós Quartet (1957–63). Their repertoire includes especially works of the Viennese Classicism and

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

as well as contemporary Hungarian composers.

History

The Bartók Quartet is the successor ensemble of the Komlós Quartet which was founded in 1957 by students of the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (, 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 Liszt Collection, which features several ...

. In 1963, the ensemble was renamed the Bartók Quartet and had its first great success when it won 1st prize at the 1964 International String Quartet Competition in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

. The Bartók Quartet has participated in international

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

s, as well as outstanding ceremonies such as the opening of the world-famous

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

and

Human Rights Day Human Rights Day (HRD) is list of minor secular observances#December, celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December ...

in New York City at the UN. The Quartet was awarded the

Liszt Prize Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

in 1965, the

Kossuth Prize The Kossuth Prize (, ) is a state-sponsored award in Hungary, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionist Lajos Kossuth. The Prize was established in 1936, by the Hungarian National Assembly, to acknowledge outstanding personal and grou ...

in 1970 and 1997; in 1981 they received the UNESCO Prize and the title, Outstanding Artists. In 1986, the ensemble received the Béla Bartók-Ditta Pásztory Prize. The recording of the six Bartók String Quartets (

Erato Records Erato Records is a record label founded in 1953 as Erato Disques S.A. by Philippe Loury to promote French classical music. Loury was head of éditions musicales Costallat. His first releases in France were licensed from the Haydn Society of Bo ...

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

) was awarded the "Grand Prix" by European critics. Further recordings followed, including the complete string quartets of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

and

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

Members

Source:

First violin

* Péter Komlós (1957–2017)

Second violin

* Sándor Devich (1957–1982) * Béla Banfalvy (1982–1985) * Géza Hargitai (1985–)

Viola

* Géza Németh (1957–)

Violoncello

* László Mezö (1957–1960 and 1977–) * Károly Botvay (1960–1977)

Recordings

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

: ''Streichquintette F-dur op. 88, G-dur op. 111'' (Deutsche Schallplatten, 1984) * Johannes Brahms: ''Streichsextette B-dur op. 18, G-dur op. 36'' (Deutsche Schallplatten, 1985) * Das Schönste der deutschen Romantik – Chöre, Lieder, Balladen (Delta Music, 1986) * Sternstunden der Musik (Deutscher Schallplatten-Club, 1987) * Meditation – ehrteiliges WerkTeil: Vol. 1. (1991) * Felix Otto Dessoff: ''Kammermusik'' (Bella Musica, 1994) * Klassik Radio – ''Musik für gewisse Stunden'' (Bella Musica, 1996) *

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

– ''String quartets op. 11 and op. 30'' (Andreas Spreer, 2002) * Meditation – ''classical relaxation / beautiful harmonies of great classical music'' (Delta Music, 2002) * Meditation – ''Entspannen mit klassischer Musik'' (Delta Music, 2003)

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. P ...

: ''String Quartets Nos. 1-16'', ''

Grosse Fuge The ''Grosse Fuge'' (, also known in English as the ''Great Fugue'' or ''Grand Fugue''), Op. 133, is a single-movement composition for string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven. An immense double fugue, it was universally condemned by contempora ...

'' (1989
HRC136
** Beethoven: '' String Quartet No. 15'', '' String Quartet No. 16'' (1989
HRC126
*

: '' String Sextet No. 1'', '' String Sextet No. 2'', '' String Quartets, Op. 51'', '' String Quartet No. 3'', '' String Quintet No. 1'', '' String Quintet No. 2'' (1975
HCD11591-93
with György Konrád (viola), Ede Banda (cello) * Brahms: ''

Piano Quintet In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly (since 1842) a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that ...

'', '' Clarinet Quintet'' (1975
HCD11596
with

Dezső Ránki Dezső Ránki (born 8 September 1951) is a Hungarian virtuoso concert pianist with a broad repertoire and a significant discography of solo, duo and concerto works. Life and career Born in Budapest, he began taking piano lessons at the Budapes ...

(piano), Béla Kovács (clarinet) * Brahms: '' Piano Quartet No. 1'', '' Piano Quartet No. 2'', '' Piano Quartet No. 3'' (1976
SLPX 11596-11600
Piano: Csilla Szabó, István Lantos, Sándor Falvai * Dvořák: '' String Quartet No. 12'' ,

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

: ''

String Quartet The term string quartet refers 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 Violin, violini ...

'' ,

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

: ''

'' (1989
HRC122
*

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

: '' String Quartet No. 1'', '' String Quartet No. 3'' (1990
HCD31107
* Mendelssohn: ''

Octet Octet may refer to: Music * Octet (music), ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or composition written for such an ensemble ** String octet, a piece of music written for eight string instruments *** Octet (Mendelssohn), 1825 compo ...

'' , Schoenberg: ''

Verklärte Nacht ''Verklärte Nacht'' (''Transfigured Night''), Op. 4, is a string sextet in one movement composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1899. Composed in just three weeks, it is considered his earliest important work. It was inspired by Richard Dehmel's p ...

'' (1994
HCD31351
*

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

: '' Haydn Quartets'' ** Mozart: '' String Quartet No. 14'', '' String Quartet No. 15'' (1989
HRC129
** Mozart: '' String Quartet No. 16'', '' String Quartet No. 17'' (1989
HRC137
** Mozart: '' String Quartet No. 18'', '' String Quartet No. 19'' (1989
HRC138
*

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

: ''

String Quintet A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet ...

'' (1997
CLD4035
with Miklós Perényi (cello) *

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

: ''

'' (1994
HCD31560
with Endre Hegedűs (piano)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartok Quartet Hungarian string quartets 1963 establishments in Hungary Béla Bartók

History

Members

First violin

Second violin

Viola

Violoncello

Recordings

See also

References

Further reading

External links