The Krettly Quartet was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

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 ...

musical ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform Instrumental music, instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist ...

active during the 1920s and 1930s. Its repertoire included avant-garde and modern works, and the group made early recordings of some of these.

Personnel

1st violin *Robert Krettly 2nd violin *René Costard (retired 1935) viola *Georges Taine (active 1925) *François Broos (active 1931-35) 'cello *

Pierre Fournier Pierre Léon Marie Fournier (24 June 19068 January 1986) was a French cellist who was called the "aristocrat of cellists" on account of his elegant musicianship and majestic sound. Biography Pierre Fournier was born in Paris, the son of a F ...

(before 1929) *

André Navarra André-Nicolas Navarra (13 October 1911 – 31 July 1988) was a French cellist and cello teacher who was born in Biarritz and died in Siena. Early life He was born into a musical family in Biarritz, his father being a bassist of Italian desce ...

(1929–1935)

Origins and activities

The quartet took its name from the leader, the violinist Robert Krettly (b. 1891), who was the brother of the cellist Odette Krettly (one of the teachers of

(1906–1986)). Robert Krettly took part in the premiere of the

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...

Pianoforte Trio in D minor op 120, in Paris on May 12, 1923, with Jacques Patté (cello) and Tatiana Sanzévitch (piano). The quartet was in existence in March 1925, with Fournier as its cellist aged 19, when they premiered the string quartet by Catherine Murphy Urner at the

Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by the acoustician Gustave Lyon together with the architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed i ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. This formation therefore preceded the appearance of Robert Krettly as second violin, with

Jacques Thibaud Jacques Thibaud (; 27 September 18801 September 1953) was a French violinist. Biography Thibaud was born in Bordeaux and studied the violin with his father before entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of thirteen. In 1896 he jointly won th ...

(1st violin),

Maurice Vieux Maurice Edgard Vieux (14 April 1884 in Savy-Berlette near Valenciennes – 28 April 1951 in Paris) was a French violist whose teaching at the Conservatoire de Paris plays a key role in the history of the viola in France. Vieux received his 1st ...

(1884–1951) (viola) and André Hekking (cello), in the premiere of the Gabriel Fauré string quartet (in E minor, op 121) at the

Société Nationale de Musique Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

in Paris on 12 June 1925. Fournier had also studied with André Hekking, and with Lucien Capet. In 1929 Andre Navarra (1911–1988) replaced Pierre Fournier as cellist, and by 1931 François Broos had replaced Georges Taine at the viola desk. Navarra made his debut as a soloist in 1931, at the

Concerts Colonne The Colonne Orchestra is a French symphony orchestra, founded in 1873 by the violinist and conductor Édouard Colonne. History While leader of the Opéra de Paris orchestra, Édouard Colonne was engaged by the publisher Georges Hartmann to lead ...

in Paris. Both Navarra and René Costard retired from the group in 1935, and in that year Costard established the French branch of Foldex maps.

Recordings

The Krettly Quartet made some significant recordings before 1936, including principally:R.D. Darrell, ''Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia of Recorded Music'' (New York 1936). *

, String Quartet in E minor op 121, *

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

, String Quartet in F major, *

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...

, String Quartet, *

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

, String Quartet no 2 (Atonal), *

Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (12 November 183327 February 1887) was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was one of the prominent 19th-century composers known as " The Five", a group dedicated to prod ...

, String Quartet no 3, Notturno * Igor Strawinsky, Trois piéces pour quatuor a cordes

Notes and references

French string quartets {{France-band-stub