Janáček: String Quartets Nos 1 & 2

Few chamber ensembles in the world can boast that they have played together in the same formation for nearly forty years and yet also maintain their musical freshness. The Panocha Quartet will celebrate their fortieth anniversary in 2008, and new recordings (Ravel, Suk, SU 3855-2) as well as a number of reissues of their most successful titles are being released to celebrate the occasion. Janáček’s String Quartets nos 1 and 2 are gems of the international quartet literature of the 20th century, and a touchstone for string quartets. The Panocha Quartet recorded this contribution to the history of Janáček interpretation in 1995, and the album was exceptionally highly praised by the critics. “Their” Janáček is further proof of the strength ofthe Czech quartet tradition. The Panocha Quartet and its artistically unique interpretation of Janáček

Panocha Quartet

Panocha Quartet was formed in 1968 at the Prague Conservatory in the class of prof. Dr. Josef Micka and soon it was clear that their success will equal them to their older predecessors – Smetana and Talich quartets, which were formed in the class of the same professor. After their great performance in the interpretation courses of prof. Raphael Hillyer in Weimar, the ensemble was soon invited to perform on American, Canadian, Mexican, Japanese, Australian and Israeli stages; audiences applauded them at international festivals in Edinburgh, Salzburg, Menton, Dubrovnik, Tel Aviv, Kuhmo, Mondsee, Vicenze, Kusatsu, Weimar and Ittingen. The Quartet is the laureate at the international Prague Spring competition, Golden Medal in Bordeaux (1976), Supraphon Gold Disc (1982), the Paris-based Grand Prix Academy Charles Cros, prestigious prize Midem Classical Awards 1995 for the recording of Dvořák’s Cypresses and Slavonic quartet. Apart from performing in concerts, the Quartet also tutors in Japan, the USA and the Czech Republic. The Quartet has been cooperating closely with excellent world-famous pianist András Schiff. In 2008 – 2009, they are celebrating 40th anniversary of performing in the original line-up – Jiří Panocha, Pavel Zejfart, Miroslav Sehnoutka and Jaroslav Kulhan.