Jana Vlachová violin • Karel Stadtherr violin • Georg Haag bratsch • Mikael Ericsson cello Vesselin Stanev piano

Uncompromising artistic ardour and diligence characterized violinist Josef Vlach, founder of the Vlach Quartet, Prague. These musical qualities quickly gave the Vlach Quartet a personal and independent profile. After Josef Vlach’s demise his daughter Jana Vlachová carries on the quartet’s high musical standards, which have lead to several awards and words of appreciation. In the music magazine The Strad, a reviewer wrote, “Vlach magic: On a purely technical level, this must be among the world’s finest quartets: the players’ tonal blend and intonation seem close to perfection.”

For the evening’s concert a selection of French, Czech and German music has been chosen, giving the Vlach Quartet and Bulgarian born pianist Vesselin Stanev an opportunity to demonstrate an exuberant virtuosity and sophisticated shades of timbres. In Czech composer Leoš Janácek’s first string quartet “Kreutzer Sonata” from 1923, a dark and dramatic expression is at play: “I imagined a poor, tormented woman, beaten, abused and near death”, the composer wrote about this piece. For the concert’s last piece the musicians come together in one the greatest chamber musical works, namely Brahms’s Piano Quintet in B minor.

CONCERT PROGRAMME:
Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Réminiscences de Don Juan S 418 (1841)
Leos Janácek (1854-1928) Quartet No. 1
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Piano Quintet in F minor