Smetana & Janacek String Quartets Jerusalem Quartet

• Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884): String Quartet no.1 in E minor ‘From My Life’ Quatuor à cordes n°1 en mi mineur “De ma vie” Streichquartett Nr.1 in e-Moll „Aus meinem Leben“
• 1I. Allegro vivo appassionato06:52
• 2II. Allegro moderato a la Polka05:29
• 3III. Largo sostenuto08:32
• 4IV. Vivace05:25
• Leoš Janáček (1854-1928): String Quartet no.1 ‘Kreutzer Sonata’ Quatuor à cordes n°1 “Sonate à Kreutzer” Streichquartett Nr.1 „Kreutzer-Sonate“
• 5I. Adagio. Con moto04:26
• 6II. Con moto04:48
• 7III. Con moto. Vivo. Andante04:30
• 8IV. Con moto (Adagio). Più mosso05:19
• String Quartet no.2 ‘Intimate Pages’ Quatuor à cordes n°2 “Lettres intimes” Streichquartett Nr.2 „Intime Briefe“
• 9I. Andante. Con moto. Allegro05:58
• 10II. Adagio. Vivace06:08
• 11III. Moderato. Andante. Adagio05:27
• 12IV. Allegro. Andante. Adagio08:13
• Total Runtime01:11:07

Info for Smetana & Janacek String Quartets

The acclaimed Jerusalem Quartet's latest release focuses works by two giants of Czech music. Though Smetana, the founder of the Czech national school, and Janácek, his spiritual heir, are best known as operatic composers, they also left strongly autobiographical chamber works. Composed when he was already profoundly deaf, Smetana's String Quartet No.1 looks back over the different stages of his life. Also written late in life, Janácek's second quartet, subtitled Intimate Letters, describes his unfulfilled passion for Kamila Stösslová, his junior by 38 years.

One might see them as the father and the heir. On the one hand, Bedrich Smetana, whose oeuvre is regarded as having founded the Czech national school; on the other, Leoš Janácek, his spiritual son (with Dvorák acting as the link between the two), brought up in the same love of the national language and culture. While opera took up a central position in both men’s lives, chamber music, and the string quartet, in particular, gave their output the indispensable intimate coloration that allows us to read and listen to their innermost thoughts and feelings. The Jerusalem Quartet, former BBC New Generation Artist and winner of the first Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, is a welcome guest in the world’s most prestigious concert halls and festivals.

The quartet’s discography on harmonia mundi has earned many international prizes and they were the first artist[s] to win 3 BBC Music Magazine Awards.

“Passion, precision, warmth, a gold blend: these are the trademarks of this excellent Israeli string quartet.” (The Times)

Jerusalem Quartet:
Alexander Pavlovsky, 1st violin
Sergei Bresler, 2nd violin
Ori Kam, viola
Kyril Zlotnikov, cello

Awards: Gramophone Artist of the Year 2013

The Jerusalem Quartet
was founded in 1993, and began its training in Jerusalem, under the direction of the violinist Avi Abramovitch. From 1999 to 2001 the quartet received support from the BBC (as BBC New Generation Artists), then in 2003 it was the recipient of the first Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.

The Jerusalem Quartet is now a regular guest in the world’s leading concert halls, notably in the United States where it is increasingly present. It performs with such artists as Alexander Melnikov, Lawrence Power, and Sharon Kam.

The quartet’s discography on harmonia mundi has won many international awards. Its interpretation of Schubert’s ‘Death and the Maiden’ Quartet won a Diapason d’Or of the Year in 2008 and an ECHO Klassik award in 2009, while its most recent release, Schumann’s Piano Quintet and Quartet, received distinctions from BBC Music Magazine, Scherzo, and Télérama.

Booklet for Smetana & Janacek String Quartets