The Tátrai Quartet was a Hungarian classical

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 ...

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 (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

and Bartók, whose complete quartets it recorded for Hungaroton,

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 ...

and

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 ...

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 *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 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 ...

, 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 and was still occupying it in 1982. In 1957 Tátrai founded the Hungarian Chamber Orchestra, which has no conductor, and remained its leader for more than two decades. The quartet was awarded 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 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. P ...

, 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