Label Praga

Inventing and developing the genre of the string quartet, Joseph Haydn carried out the most original study of it, as evidenced by the opus. 33. The latter then appears as a real deepening of this universe in the making, because, as Bernard Fournier rightly notes, “at the same time that he was firmly establishing – but perhaps without fully realizing it – the genre of the quartet, Haydn was reflecting in Opus 20 about the means and possibilities of expressing musical thought, turned to seriousness and concentration, Opus 33, on the contrary, is liveliness and effervescence, which become the main aesthetic issue, even if, as in Opus 20, the discourse is far from being concentrated in one direction, but continues translate the nuances and diversity of thought. In an interpretive concept of absolute refinement, the Parcagni quartet offers us here the quartet Nos. 2, 3 and 5 of Opus 33. The flexibility of phrases, the purity of the melodic line, the warm colors, the lightness of the attacks bring their essential benefit.

he Prazak Quartet is not only one of the leading string quartets from Czechoslovakia, but among the longest-lived from any country. Although most of the original membership is gone, all the current personnel has been in place since 1986, and two of the three replacements have served since the early or mid-'70s. Not surprisingly, the ensemble has shown a preference for Czech repertory, focusing particularly on Dvorák, Smetana, Janácek, and Martinu. But the group has also demonstrated an affinity for the string quartets of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, and other composers in the Germanic sphere.

The first major French piano quintet, César Franck's Piano Quintet was completed in 1879 and premiered in January 1880. With an intensity and lyricism unheard of in the French chamber music repertoire at the time, it marked both the renewal of the latter, opening the way for Chausson, D'Indy and Fauré, and that of Franck's style. The Pražák Quartet and François Dumont come together to celebrate the composer's 200th birthday with this masterpiece.

Unusual last Janáček chamber programme : the vital string quartets but also the Concertino, an adventurous, amazingly experimental work. Its 'programme' recalls the naturalism and anthropomorphisms of the adventures of the Cunning Little Vixen.

The Budapest String Quartet Founded in 1917 in Budapest, Hungary, the Budapest Quartet became the most internationally successful chamber ensemble of modern times. Across 50 years, and a repertory ranging from Mozart to Bartok, the group brought chamber music of these composers to audiences on two continents, and further popularized the music through their recordings. The Budapest Quartet's original members were Emil Hauser, Imre Poganyi, Istvan Ipolyi, and Harry Son, all of whom had played in the Budapest Opera Orchestra.

“La Ville” for solo piano, can be understood as a sort of postlude to K, a stroll outside of time, a tribute to the historic quarters of Prague haunted by the shade of Kafka, as much a psychological labyrinth as a seemingly abstract construction with a strange power of fascination (world premiere).

Leonard Bernstein Génie protéiforme, animateur de la vie musicale américaine pendant presque quarante ans, débordant de générosité et parfois d’outrance, Leonard Bernstein aurait eu 100 ans le 25 août 2018. Né à Lawrence, à une cinquantaine de kilomètres au nord de Boston (Massachusetts), il est le fils d’exilés ukrainiens, dont le père a fait fortune dans le négoce en fournitures pour coiffeurs. Après son diplôme à la Boston Latin School de Boston, il étudie la musique à Harvard où il rencontre Aaron Copland avec lequel il restera ami tout au long de sa vie. C’est là qu’il écrit ses premières œuvres pour les besoins des spectacles de l’université et qu’il rencontre le chef grec Dimitri Mitropoulos dont le charisme et l’ascendant sur les musiciens l’incitent à devenir chef d’orchestre.

Along with the six quartets of Op. 64, the three string quartets of Haydn's Op. 54 belong to the group of works referred to as the Tost quartets. Op. 54 is not one of Haydn's more popular or frequently performed opuses.