The Bohemian Quartet (; known as the Czech Quartet after 1918) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

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 ...

of international repute that was founded in 1891 and disbanded in 1933.

Origins

The Quartet was founded in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

by three pupils of

Antonín Bennewitz Antonín Bennewitz (also Anton Bennewitz; 26 March 1833 – 29 May 1926) was a Bohemian violinist, conductor, and teacher. He was in a line of violinists that extended back to Giovanni Battista Viotti, and forward to Jan Kubelík and Wolfgang ...

( Karel Hoffmann, Josef Suk and

Oskar Nedbal Oskar Nedbal (26 March 1874 – 24 December 1930) was a Czech violist, composer, and conductor of classical music. Early life Nedbal was born in Tábor, in southern Bohemia. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Ben ...

) and a pupil of

Hanuš Wihan Hanuš Wihan (5 June 1855 – 1 May 1920) was a Czech cellist. Some considered him the greatest of his time. He was strongly associated with the works of Antonín Dvořák, whose Cello Concerto in B minor, Rondo in G minor, and the short pie ...

(); Bennewitz and Wihan were both teachers at the

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory () is a public music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, the school offers four- or six-year courses, which can be compared to the level of a high school diploma in other countries. Graduates c ...

. Wihan had himself studied at Prague, and was cellist of the chamber quartet of

Ludwig II Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886), also called the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King (), was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duk ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, becoming Professor at Prague in 1888. He replaced his student Otto Berger as cellist in the quartet when Berger died prematurely. Wihan then directed the Quartet until 1913 when the strain of touring obliged him to retire from it and resume his teaching. His place was then taken by , who since 1911 had been playing with the

Ševčík-Lhotský Quartet The Ševčík-Lhotský String Quartet was a well-known Czech musical ensemble that was founded as the Ševčík Quartet at Warsaw in 1903 that continued to the 1930s. Personnel The founding members of the quartet were: 1st violin: Bohuslav Lh ...

. In 1906, the violist Nedbal had run off with Hoffmann's wife;John White: ''Lionel Tertis. The First Great Virtuoso of the Viola'', Woodbridge 2006, p. 14. during the tour in England, his place was at short notice taken by

Lionel Tertis Lionel Tertis, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (29 December 187622 February 1975) was an English viola, violist. He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame, and a noted teacher. Career Tertis was born ...

and afterwards formally by Jiří Herold. The group made repeated tours in Europe, especially with the quartets of Dvořák and Smetana, and were noted for their warm tone and fiery rhythms. In 1922 the four members were appointed professors at the Prague Conservatory. The group disbanded with a concert on 4 December 1933, to honour Suk’s 60th birthday. Many key contemporary works were written for and/or first performed by the Bohemian Quartet. Most notably, this included works by

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

and

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

, such as Janáček's second string quartet, subtitled "''Intimate Letters''".

Personnel

;1st violin * Karel Hoffmann ;2nd violin * Josef Suk (to 1933) * (1933–34) ;Viola *

(to 1906) * Jiří Herold (1906–1934) ;Violoncello * Otto Berger (to 1894) *

(1894–1914) * (1914–1934)

Recordings

* Smetana: Quartet no. 1 in E minor (1876) (Polydor 78rpm, 95076-95079). (as 'Bohemian Quartet') * Smetana: Quartet no. 2 in D minor (1882) (Pathé 78rpm X 86005-86008) (Private recording for Czech Academy). * Dvořák: Quartet "no 6" (now no.12, 'American') in F major op 96 (Polydor 78rpm, 95084-95086). (as 'Bohemian (Suk) Quartet') * Dvořák: Quartet "no 3" (now no.10) in E flat major op 51, Dumka only (Polydor 78rpm, 95087).(ditto) * Suk: Quartet no 1 in B major op 11 (Polydor 78rpm, 95080-95083). (All recordings made 1928-29.)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bohemian Quartet Musical groups established in 1891 Czech string quartets 1891 establishments in Austria-Hungary Musical groups disestablished in 1933 1933 disestablishments in Czechoslovakia

Origins

Personnel

Recordings

References

Further reading

See also

External links