Mozart’s ten mature string quartets, for the first time in a single box set, performed by the Budapest Quartet. Joseph Roisman, first violin caused a sensation with his virtuoso brio. He accentuates contrasts and shies away from contemporary traditions like reprises and da capo. He initiated the updating of this prophetic body of music, and paved the way for his young colleagues such as Norbert Brainin (Amadeus), Robert Mann (Juilliard) and Günter Pichler (Berg Quartet). The Budapest Quartet (1953-67) still provides the best interpretation of these works, with a daring rendering of their astonishing expressionism and modernity.

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PRD 250 360

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In 2015 the three founder members of the Pražák Quartet, Vlastimil Holek (2nd violin), Josef Klusoň (viola) and Michal Kaňka (cello) were joined by first violinist, Jana Vonášková, previously member of the SMETANA Trio. For their first recording in this new formation, they pay a tribute to SMETANA in a luxurious, curiously unusual, chamber music programme with the help of a young and yet glorious French pianist Natalia Milstein, in commemoration of the centenary of Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 after the First World War. A French-Czech event.

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PRD/DSD 350 151

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In 1799, Haydn set out to compose a series of six quartets dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz, Beethoven's future patron. The quartets Op. 77 nos. 1 and 2 are the first results of this great project. Busy with the composition of The Seasons and the Harmoniemesse, Haydn did not manage to complete this work, but at his death he nonetheless left two movements of a third unfinished quartet, op.103. Daring and full of humour, these last three quartets constitute the magnificent farewell of the old master, then in the process of making way for his ebullient colleague Beethoven.

This programme, marking the passing of the baton of a compositional generation, pays tribute to the great Prazak Quartet; it is worth recalling that their discography devoted to Haydn has won many awards, and with this recording the Quartet continues the transformation it began in 2015, opening a new chapter in its history.

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PRD250420

On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, Praga Digitals presents a box-set of 30 key discs that retrace the history of the label. These include rereleases of some of the house’s great names, such as the Pražák, the Kocian, the Zemlinsky and the Párkányí, but also the magnificent restorations of the historic recordings of Mravinsky, Furtwängler, Oistrakh and Richter.
The selection draws from the label’s preferred repertory, from Czech music to the Second Viennese School, via Brahms, Schubert, Janáček, but also Debussy, Ravel, Mahler, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, without forgetting the composer who was perhaps most championed by the catalogue, Bartók. This box-set is thus an opportunity to reinstate some of the finest discs in the catalogue, from among those that contributed to making Praga Digitals one of the greatest catalogues of chamber music and one of the references as regards aural beauty, in a limited and remastered edition

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PRD 250 421

==> CLICK HERE TO ORDER THIS BOXSET ON THE PRAGA DIGITALS ONLINE STORE

The first great French piano quintet, the Quintet in F minor by César Franck was completed in 1879 and premiered in January 1880. Of until then unparalleled intensity and lyricism in the French chamber repertory, it would act as a renewal of the latter, opening the way to Chausson, d’Indy and Fauré, and it also renewed the style of Franck himself, inaugurating a rich period of great masterpieces. The Pražák Quartet and François Dumont celebrate the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth with this masterpiece of expressive power.

The Pražák complete the programme with the last of Dvořák’s string quartets, composed on his return home after three years in the USA. Among the myriad subtleties of expression and colour we find the same lyrical inspiration that animates Franck’s Quintet. Both works are performed with fervour, magnificence and beauty of sound by the players.

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250 422

The PRAŽÁK Quartet, one of the most eminent modern quartets and a major heir to the Czech tradition, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022! 
On this occasion, Praga Digitals is presenting a limited edition anniversary box set of 50 CDs featuring all the recordings made between 1992 and 2018 under the guidance of the late Pierre Émile Barbier, founder of the label. 
This exceptional box set traces the ensemble's journey in its "historic" formation, comprising Václav Remeš (followed by Pavel Hůla from 2010 onwards) on first violin, Vlastimil Holek on second, Josef Klusoň on viola, and Michal Kaňka on 'cello - prior to its near-complete re-configuration in 2020. 
At the heart of the programme are the complete quartets of Beethoven and the very first complete recording of the works of the Second Viennese School (Schoenberg, Berg, Webern), Czech repertoire (Dvořák, Smetana, Janáček, Martinů) and Viennese Classicism (Haydn, Mozart), as well as German Romanticism (Schubert, Brahms, Schumann, Mendelssohn), the Russians (Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich), but also Strauss, Mahler, Zemlinsky, Schulhoff...  
Their partners include Vanda Tabery and Christine Whittlesey (soprano), Pascal Moraguès (clarinet), Jan Talich and Hatto Beyerle (viola), Jaroslav Tůma (harmonium), Ivan Klánský & Evgeni Koroliov (piano)...
The collaboration between the Pražák Quartet and Praga Digitals marks one of the most important epic ventures of modern recording, reminiscent of the golden age of the Amadeus, Juilliard or Alban Berg Quartets - a priceless legacy as much in terms of its scope as its artistry and sound quality, as well as its multiple awards: Diapason d'or, "Choc" (Classica), "10" (Répertoire), the Grand Prix of the Académie Charles Cros, Gramophone, The Strad... 
50 CDs for 50 years : Happy birthday and long live the PRAŽÁKS!

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PRD 250 425

==> CLICK HERE TO ORDER THIS ALBUM ON OUR ONLINE STORE

“Blithe ignorance of the future cataclysm” is the subtitle originally chosen by Shostakovich for the first movement of his “war quartet”, String Quartet no. 3 (1946), which he considered one of his finest works. The subtitle sets the tone for a composition that, nourished by popular folklore, appears to stage the inexorable confrontation of opposing forces. The same tension, the same razor’s-edge atmosphere is to be found in Beethoven’s Quartet op. 18, no. 4, and in Schubert’s unfinished Quartet, no. 12, generally known as the Quartettsatz.

The musicians of the David Oistrakh Quartet embrace the latent fury of these three works, without giving in to the maelstrom: the precision of their playing feeds a raw, electric expressiveness, magnified by an exceptional ensemble sound, taking the emotional power of this programme to great heights.

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PRD250426