Guelph Musicfest presents the Zemlinsky Quartet

Event Description

Guelph Musicfest welcomes the renowned Zemlinsky String Quartet from Prague for its first-ever performance in Guelph. The quartet will appear at the Recital Hall of the Guelph Youth Music Centre on Saturday, October 25. The program: Beethoven’s Quartet in F minor “Serioso” Op. 95; Janáček’s Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata”; and Dvořák’s famous “American” Quartet, Op. 96 in F major. This concert is the first of Guelph Musicfest’s Encore series, which includes a recital by violinist Sadie Fields (from Brussels, Belgium) with festival director/pianist Ken Gee on Friday, November 7, at the GYMC. More information at https://www.guelphmusicfest.ca

Guelph Musicfest welcomes the renowned Zemlinsky String Quartet, on tour from Prague, Czech Republic.

In collaboration with the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society (KWCMS), the concert in the Recital Hall of the Guelph Youth Music Centre will be the Zemlinsky Quartet’s first appearance in Guelph.

The program will be Beethoven’s Quartet in F minor “Serioso” Op. 95; Janáček’s Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata”; and Dvořák’s famous “American” Quartet, Op. 96 in F major.

Founded in 1994 while the members were still students, the Zemlinsky Quartet has become a much lauded example of the Czech string quartet tradition. The Zemlinsky Quartet won the First Grand Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in 2010. They have also been awarded top prizes at the Banff International String Quartet Competition (2007), the Prague Spring International Music Competition (2005), and the London International String Quartet Competition (2006), where they also received the Audience Prize. The Quartet was the recipient of the Alexander Zemlinsky Advancement Award in 2008. Other notable prizes include the Beethoven International Competition (1999), the New Talent Bratislava (2003), the Martinů Foundation String Quartet Competition (2004), and the Prize of the Czech Chamber Music Society (2005). In the 2016/17 season, the Zemlinsky Quartet was appointed as the residential ensemble of the Czech Chamber Music Society.

While students at the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts Prague, the ensemble was coached by members of renowned Czech string quartets, including the Talich, Prague, Kocian and Pražák Quartets. The ensemble also participated in several master classes, including ProQuartet in France and the Sommerakademie in Reichenau, Austria, where they were awarded First Prize for the best interpretation of a work by Janáček. From 2005 to 2008, the quartet studied with Walter Levin, the first violinist of the LaSalle Quartet. Their recent mentor has been Josef Klusoň, the violist of the Pražák Quartet.

This concert is the first of Guelph Musicfest’s Encore series, which includes a recital by violinist Sadie Fields (from Brussels, Belgium) with festival director/pianist Ken Gee on Friday, November 7, at the GYMC. More information at https://www.guelphmusicfest.ca

The performance also pairs with a concert by the Zemlinsky Quartet for the KW Chamber Music Society on Friday October 24 featuring Zemlinsky’s Quartet No. 1 in A major, Op. 4; Smetana’s Quartet No. 1 in E minor “From My Life”; and Janáček’s Quartet No. 2 “Intimate Letters.” More information at https://k-wcms.com

Location of the Guelph Youth Music Centre event