Wihan Quartet
Wihan Quartet at The Stoller Hall, Manchester
About the show
Programme
MOZART String Quartet no. 15 in D minor K. 421
JANÁČEK String Quartet no. 1, Kreutzer
Interval
SCHUBERT Quartet no. 14 in D minor, D. 810 – Death and the Maiden
‘‘one of the best quartets in the world today’ – International Record Review
‘one of the world’s finest chamber ensembles’ – BBC Music Magazine
Described as one of the leading string quartets to emerge from the Czech school of performance, the Wihan Quartet have gained an international reputation for interpretations of music from their homeland, having received acclaim for their recordings of works by Smetana and Dvořák across their 40 years of playing together.
In this opening concert of the MCCS 26/27 season, they turn their attention to Czech composer Leoš Janáček with his String Quartet No. 1, ‘Kreutzer Sonata’, alongside two equally dramatic works.
The concert opens with Mozart’s sweeping string quartet No. 15. This is followed by Janáček’s ‘Kreutzer Sonata’ quartet, inspired by a tale from Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Depicting a story of an adulterous wife and her murderous husband, this is music that paints a picture of passion, jealousy and dark deeds.
The literary theme continues with Schubert’s powerful and lament-filled Quartet No. 14, a piece inspired by his previously composed song ‘Death and the Maiden’, which was itself based on a work of German poetry.
Featuring - Wihan Quartet
The Wihan Quartet was established at the Prague Academy of Arts in 1985, since when they have won many awards including first prize in the 1991 London International String Quartet Competition. The players of this outstanding young string quartet always bring extraordinary insight and intensity to the playing of music of their native land of Bohemia.
'This is the finest recorded performance I have encountered to date' (BBC Music Magazine on the Wihan Quartet's Dvorak Op 61 recording).