Zdeněk Fibich - String Quartets (Panocha Quartet)

Information

Composer: Zdeněk Fibich

• String Quartet No. 1 in A major
• String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 8
• Tema con variazioni in B flat major

Panocha Quartet

    Jiří Panocha, violin

    Pavel Zejfart, violin

    Miroslav Sehnoutka, viola

    Jaroslav Kulhan, cello

Date: 2001

Label: Supraphon

-----------------------------------------------------------

Zdeněk Fibich (21 December 1850 – 15 October 1900) was a Czech composer. He studied under such prominent musicians as Ignaz Moscheles and Salomon Jadassohn in Leipzig and Mannheim, then settled in Prague from 1874. Influenced early by Weber, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and later by Wagner, Fibich composed many songs and operas in German, gaining acclaim from German critics but less so from Czechs. His later operas were mostly in Czech, but often based on non-Czech literary works. He integrated Bohemian folk elements into his chamber music and was a pioneer in composing Czech nationalist tone poems.

***

The Panocha Quartet was formed in 1968 at the Prague Conservatory by Jiří Panocha, Jaroslav Hlůže, and Jaroslav Kulhan, later joined by Pavel Zejfart. Miroslav Sehnoutka replaced Hlůže in 1971. The group gained international recognition after winning the 1975 Prague International String Quartet Competition and the 1976 Bordeaux Gold Medal. They debuted in the U.S. in 1975 and later in Germany and Ireland. Their repertoire emphasizes Czech and Viennese classical music, including complete cycles by Dvořák and Martinů. They have performed with pianists like Rudolf Firkušný, Jan Panenka and András Schiff.

-----------------------------------------------------------