From My Homeland...
Zemlinsky Quartet
František Souček, violin
Petr Střižek, violin
Petr Holman, viola
Vladimir Fortin, cello
Bennewitz Quartet
Jakub Fišer, violin
Štěpán Ježek, violin
Jiři Pinkas, viola
Štěpán Doležal, cello
Two ‘hits’ from the string quartet repertoire are juxtaposed with a masterpiece that is, sadly, all too little known. For Schubert and Dvořák, the Quartetsatz and the so-called ‘American’ Quartet are mature works which, since their premiere, have established themselves among the great masterpieces of the repertoire. Georges Enescu was 14 years old when he arrived in Paris in 1895. Dazzled by the musical life of the French capital, he very quickly established himself there as a composer of incredible inventiveness, writing this Octet at the age of 19 in a form unprecedented in French music of the time. Two Prague-based quartets have taken it up, responding to a request from the Stavelot Festival.
Programme:
Franz Schubert: Quartettsatz in C minor, D. 703
Antonín Dvořák: String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96 ‘American’
George Enescu: Octet in C major, Op. 7