Viktor Kalabis: The Complete String Quartets Kocian Quartet & Zemlinsky Quartet

• Viktor Kalabis (1923 - 2006): String Quartet No. 1, Op. 6:
• 1 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 6: I. Allegro moderato 06:48
• 2 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 6: II. Alla polka 05:03
• 3 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 6: III. Elegia - Largo 08:06
• 4 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 6: IV. Allegro vivace 05:27
• String Quartet No. 2, Op. 19:
• 5 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 19: I. Prolog. Adagio molto quieto 03:40
• 6 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 19: II. Allegro molto - Andante molto quieto - Tempo I - Andante molto quieto - Tempo I 07:17
• 7 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 19: III. Epilog. Adagio 04:40
• String Quartet No. 3, Op. 48:
• 8 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 48: I. Allegro ma non troppo 02:58
• 9 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 48: II. Adagio 06:37
• 10 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 48: III. Allegro vivo - Adagio - Allegro 08:18
• String Quartet No. 4, Op. 62 "Tribute to J.S. Bach" (in one movement):
• 11 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 4, Op. 62 "Tribute to J.S. Bach" (in one movement) 12:02
• String Quartet No. 5, Op. 63 "In memory of Marc Chagall":
• 12 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 5, Op. 63 "In memory of Marc Chagall": I. Molto vivo 04:14
• 13 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 5, Op. 63 "In memory of Marc Chagall": II. Adagio. Con serieta 06:52
• 14 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 5, Op. 63 "In memory of Marc Chagall": III. Allegro molto - Gaiamente - Andante - Molto quieto - Moderato - Allegro molto 08:58
• String Quartet No. 6, Op. 68 "In memory of Bohuslav Martinů":
• 15 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 6, Op. 68 "In memory of Bohuslav Martinů": I. Allegro 06:40
• 16 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 6, Op. 68 "In memory of Bohuslav Martinů": II. Andante 04:15
• 17 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 6, Op. 68 "In memory of Bohuslav Martinů": III. Allegro vivo 05:47
• String Quartet No. 7, Op. 76 (in one movement):
• 18 Kalabis: String Quartet No. 7, Op. 76 (in one movement) 14:24
• Total Runtime 02:02:06

Info for Viktor Kalabis: The Complete String Quartets

A tribute to Viktor Kalabis, one of the greatest Czech composers of the latter half of the 20th century, close friend of Jindřich Feld (1925-2007) and Marek Kopelent (b. 1932), who lived through both the German occupation and the communist era. The musician admired French culture, adored Stravinsky' Russian and French periods and Bartok's values and felt at ease with the large symphonic and concerto forms. He also composed seven intimate Quartets from 1949 onwards, his last one in 1993. His harpsichordist wife Zuzana Růžícková, who survived Terezin, led him into the work of Bach. He was also influenced by painters such as Marc Chagall and Ota Janeček, and he dedicated many years of his life to promoting the work of Martinů, and helped found the Martinů Institute.

"The Zemlinsky Quartet take over from the Kocian for the second disc. The Fourth Quartet was written during the final days of the Communist regime. Like the First Quartet it was premiered by the Smetana for its anniversary. And just like the First the commissioners were slow in playing the work as a result the premiere was given by the Berlin Comic Opera Quartet. It is a work of quiet confiding and whispered fantasy. Its successor, the Fifth Quartet (in memory of one of Kalabis’s influences the painter Marc Chagall) shares this sense of a world in miniature across three intricately imagined movements the last of which has a sanguine motor rhythmic drive and buzzing and wheeling gypsy feeling that in its high wheeling violin writing recalls Tippett. The Sixth Quartet is dedicated to Martinu, a composer in whose music he invested much time including active promotion and assistance in founding the Martinu Institute. This work feels bigger and louder in sound – more dramatic – in keeping with Martinu’s own muse though never sounding like a parody. That said there are some Martinu echoes as in the buzzing at the start of the finale which for me recalls the Fantaisies Symphonique. The second CD starts and ends with a single movement quartet. The Seventh Quartet contains for me the frankest Martinu reference at about 3:00 in. It is said to be a biographical work and the composer described it as ‘… a diary, a confession …’. It feels intimate and the note-writer for this set, Ales Brezina draws a plausible comparison with the Beethoven late quartets. The music is vividly imagined and some of it certainly communicates as a soliloquy if that is not a contradiction in terms. A fine skein of stratospheric violin writing impresses in an enigmatically majestic yet telling piece of understatement." (MusicWeb International)

Kocian Quartet:
Pavel Hula, violin
Miloš Cerný, violin
Zbynek Padourek, viola
Václav Bernášek, cello (tracks 1-3)
Zemlinsky Quartet:
František Soucek, violin
Petr Strlžek, violin
Petr Holman, viola
Vladimír Fortin, cello (tracks 4-7)

Digitally remastered

The Kocian 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 and Pravoslav Kohout.

Zemlinsky Quartet
Founded in 1994 while the members were still students, the ZEMLINSKY QUARTET has become a much lauded example of the Czech string quartet tradition. The Zemlinsky Quartet won the First Grand Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in 2010. They have also been awarded top prizes at the Banff International String Quartet Competition (2007), Prague Spring International Music Competition (2005) and London International String Quartet Competition (2006), where they also received the Audience Prize. The Quartet was recipient of the Alexander Zemlinsky Advancement Award in 2008. Other notable prizes include Beethoven International Competition (1999), New Talent Bratislava (2003), Martinů Foundation String Quartet Competition (2004), and the Prize of Czech Chamber Music Society (2005). In the season 2016/17, Zemlinsky Quartet was appointed as the residential ensemble of the Czech Chamber Music Society.

While students at the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts Prague, the ensemble was coached by members of renowned Czech string quartets including the Talich, Prague, Kocian and Pražák Quartets. The ensemble also took part in several master classes including ProQuartet, in France and Sommerakademie in Reichenau, Austria where they were awarded First Prize for the best interpretation of a work by Janáček. From 2005 to 2008, the quartet studied with Walter Levin, the first violinist of LaSalle Quartet. Their recent mentor has been Josef Klusoň, the violist of the Pražák Quartet.

Zemlinsky Quartet is named after the Austrian composer, conductor and teacher Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942), whose enormous contribution to Czech, German and Jewish culture during his 16-year residence in Prague had been underrated until recently. His four string quartets (the second one being dedicated to his student and brother-in-law Arnold Schönberg) belong to the basic repertoire of the ensemble. Since 2005, the quartet has maintained a special relationship with the Alexander Zemlinsky Foundation in Vienna.

The Zemlinsky Quartet performs regularly in the Czech Republic and abroad (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Monaco, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Great Britain, Ireland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Canada, USA, Brazil, Japan, South Korea). Recent major appearances of the Zemlinsky Quartet include London’s Wigmore Hall, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Library of Congress, Place des Arts in Montreal, Prague Spring Festival, and their New York debut on Schneider/New School Concerts Series.

Their vast repertoire contains more than 200 works ranging from Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Dvorak to works by contemporary composers. The members of the ensemble also perform as soloists and are individual prize-winners of several competitions (Concertino Praga, Spohr International Competition Weimar, Tribune of Young Artists UNESCO, Rotary Music Competition Nürnberg,Beethoven International Competition, Kocian International Competition).

Between 2006-2011, the Zemlinsky Quartet were Assistant Quartet-in-Residence at Musikakademie Basel in Switzerland. Music education is an important part of their professional life and during their tours, the quartet is often invited to give master classes to students of any age. They also perform educational concerts for students. Recently, František Souček and Petr Holman have been appointed Professors at the Prague Conservatory.

Booklet for Viktor Kalabis: The Complete String Quartets