Summer Music Concert 7
Wihan String Quartet
Sunday 15 July 7.30pm

Leos Cepicky violin
Jan Schulmeister violin
Jiri Zigmund viola
Ales Kasprik cello

Wolf Italian Serenade
Panufnik String Quartet No 3
Shostakovich String Quartet No 1 in C, Op 49
Dvorák String Quartet No 14 in A flat, Op 105

Biography   |   Supper menu   |   Audience reviews

Quotes

The sound these Czech musicians make - beautifully balanced, centered in warm, dark regions of tone colour, musical in every part - is deeply pleasurable and also deeply traditional. The Wihan's playing is roomy with rubato, and the musicians regroup with natural ease around whichever of them has the main line at the moment.
The New York Times

‘Recently, I´ve been leading discussions of how interpretation affects our perception of music, and nothing demonstrates this more vividly than the lithe, surging performance by Martin Kasik and the Wihan Quartet of Schumann´s Piano Quintet, which comes closest to capturing my sense of what the composer´s personality must have been. It is a present I would be pleased to give.’
The Gramophone Magazine

‘Schubert’s C Major Quintet was quite simply as fine a performance as one is ever likely to hear, in a reading which showed profound understanding of the music, everything perfectly judged and superbly played. It was a performance that will remain in the memory for a long time.’
Eastern Daily Press

‘Given playing of such virtuosic quality it is surely only a matter of time before the Wihan Quartet becomes a household name.’
The Strad

Biography

The Wihan Quartet is one of the major string quartets to have emerged from the great school of Czech playing in recent years. Formed in 1985, and still made up of the original four members, the Quartet has developed an outstanding reputation for the interpretation of its native Czech repertoire as well as the many classical, romantic and modern masterpieces of the string quartet repertoire.

They have developed an impressive international career, which includes visits to major festivals in Europe and the Far East. They visit the United States regularly and have had highly acclaimed tours of Australia and New Zealand. They are frequent visitors to the UK and can often be heard on Radio 3 as well as in concert at Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, the South Bank and many other venues.

The Wihan Quartet have been prize-winners in many International Competitions including The Prague Spring Festival in 1988, the International Competition of Chamber Music at Trapani in Sicily in 1990 and the Osaka ‘Chamber Festa’ in 1996, which has resulted in their being invited back to Japan on an annual basis. In 1991 they won both the First Prize and the Audience Prize in the London International String Quartet Competition. They have been nominated three times for a Royal Philharmonic Society Award in recognition of their outstanding education work and performances in the UK.

Their discography of over 20 CDs shows their great love of Czech music, but also includes many classical, romantic and modern composers of the string quartet repertoire. Their recording of Schoenberg’s 4th Quartet coupled with Pfitzner’s Quartet No.2 received the highest rating in the French magazine ‘Repertoire’. The final CD in their cycle of Beethoven Quartets for Lotos was released in December 2005 to coincide with their 20th anniversary concert at the Rudolfinum in Prague. Their CD of both Smetana Quartets was launched in the UK at the Wigmore Hall in May 2006.

The Quartet is 'Visiting Quartet in Residence' at Trinity College of Music, London. When in the UK, the Wihan work regularly for the CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust, giving concerts to help develop a love of chamber music amongst young people. The Quartet has given masterclasses at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff and also coaches on a number of courses including Pro Corda and Dartington International Summer School.


www.wihanquartet.com

Tickets for supper has now sold out

After concert supper menu 7

The gratin of salmon with creamed leeks and mushrooms; courgette and pinenut lasagne; carrot and celery salad; leaf salad; couscous and mint salad. Selection of breads. Fresh fruit salad of the season with cream/fromage frais. Coffee/tea.

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'The Wihan were extraordinary.  I loved them.  Wolf, Panufnik, Shostakovich and Dvorak with a bohemian touch.  So lively and with such an enjoyment of music.'
Rhoda Ormerod, Row C seat1