Kodály Quartet Presented by Liszt Academy

Hungarian and international audiences are well acquainted with the Kodály String Quartet, which has a history spanning more than five and a half decades. Their name on any concert poster is a guarantee of quality and outstanding musical experience. We can confidently say that the ensemble, founded by musicians from the Liszt Academy, is a rightfully famous representative of 20th-century Hungarian chamber music culture. The string quartet is a special genre; it acts as a bridge between solo and orchestral playing. Soloist skills and musical competence are essential, while greater discipline and adaptability are required at the same time. For perfect cooperation, the four individuals must become finely attuned to each other, thus the rehearsal process is usually longer than for an orchestral concert. In addition to concert tours, they have recorded numerous albums. Under the care of Naxos Records, the ensemble has released the complete string quartets of Haydn and Beethoven, Schubert cycles, as well as string pieces by Ravel, Debussy, Bartók, and Kodály. Besides international acclaim, the quartet’s work enjoys special attention in the Hungarian cultural scene as well: after receiving the Liszt and Bartók–Pásztory Awards, the ensemble was honored with the Kossuth Prize in 2022. On this evening, the Kodály Quartet will perform works by three Czech composers, who belong to different generations but can still be considered contemporaries. Interestingly, the composers were born at exactly decades after one another: Bedřich Smetana in 1824, Leoš Janáček in 1854, and Josef Suk in 1874. A special piece in the concert program is a composition by Suk, who – in addition to composing – was an active member of the Czech String Quartet as a violinist for 40 years, thus he was well acquainted with the ensemble's inner dynamics.