The Végh Quartet was 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 ...
founded in 1940 and led by its first violinist
Sándor Végh for 40 years. The quartet was based in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
until it departed
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
in 1946. It is particularly known for its recordings of the
Beethoven (recorded twice – 1952 mono and 1972-4 stereo) and
Bartók cycles. The quartet disbanded in 1980.
Personnel
The personnel from 1940 to 1978 were:
*
Sándor Végh (violin)
*
Sándor Zöldy (violin)
*
Georges Janzer (viola)
* Paul Szabo (cello)
In 1978
Philipp Naegele replaced Sándor Zöldy, and
Bruno Giuranna replaced Georges Janzer.
Origins
Sándor Végh, a pupil of
Jenő Hubay and
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály (, ; , ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education.
...
at
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
Academy, led the
Hungarian Quartet from its foundation in 1935 until 1937, when he ceded the first violin desk to
Zoltán Székely, and went to the second in the place of Péter Szervánsky: Denes Koromzay was the viola and Vilmos Palotai the 'cello. Székely was a friend of
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 ...
, and the group became rapidly known by giving the premiere performance of the Bartók 5th Quartet, which it studied with the composer. By 1938, the group had been heard in every major city of Western Europe. In 1940 Végh left to found his own quartet.
The Vegh Quartet was founded in Budapest and was based there during the War, but left Hungary in 1946 and settled in Paris. They won the Grand Prix at Geneva at its first international music festival 1946. The 1952 recording of the Beethoven quartets was made in
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. The personnel of the quartet remained the same for almost 40 years. Then, in 1978 the second violin and viola left the group. (The original violist, Georges Janzer, and his wife, cellist Eva Czako, went on to teach at the
Indiana University School of Music, alongside Czako's childhood teacher,
János Starker. The Janzers also made a number of recordings of chamber music with the legendary Belgian violinist
Arthur Grumiaux.) They were both replaced, but after two more years the ensemble was disbanded.
In 1958, the Quartet completed an acclaimed tour of Southern Africa.
Recordings
*Beethoven: Quartets, recorded 1952, Les Discophiles Français
*Kodály – String Quartet No. 2, Op. 10, issued 1954. (
Decca LP LXT2876: London LP LL-865)*
*Smetana – String Quartet No. 1 in E flat, issued 1954. (Decca LP LXT2876: London LP LL-865)*
(*These reissued in a joint remastering by Dr John Duffy & Andrew Rose, October 2008, for Pristine Audio, PACM061. Personnel: Végh, Zöldy, Janzer, Szabo.)
*Mozart – Quartets no 14 in G major K 387 'Spring': no 15 in D minor K 421 (417b): no 17 in Bb major K 458 'Hunt': no 18 in A major K 464: no 21 in D major K 575: no 23 in F major K 590. Studio recordings in Paris, 1951–1952, Les Discophiles Français. (Archipel 2-CD set)
*Mozart – Adagio & Fugue in C minor K546. (Les Discophiles Français LP)
*Brahms – Quartet no 1 op 51 no 1: Clarinet Quintet (with
Antoine-Pierre de Bavier).
*Brahms – Quartets no 2 in A minor op 51 no 2: no 3 in Bb major op 67, recorded 1954. (Decca Heritage CD 475 6155)
*Bartók – 6 Quartets, recorded 1954–1956
*Beethoven Quartets, complete in Stereo version, 1972-4. (
Telefunken)
Beethoven: Quartets, Telefunken, A modern review
''www.classicstoday.com''
*Bartók – 6 Quartets, recorded 1972 ( Astrée)
*Schubert – Quartet no 15 in G major D 887 (Op. posth. 161). ( Orfeo CD)
External links
ProductID=651
at www.andante.com
Review of Bartok recordings
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vegh Quartet
Musical groups established in 1940
Hungarian string quartets
Musical groups disestablished in 1980