PRD 250 174

An ‘express’ portrait of the Pražák Quartet, on the verge of its 36th year of international activity, in a programme drawn from recent concerts, a representative anthology of its repertoire, which ranges from Haydn, father of the ‘modern’ quartet, up to the present day, without overlooking Dvořák, Smetana, Janáček and Martinů, the masters of the Czech school. It ends with Beethoven’s last Quartet, a score that opened the way for the great quartet composers of the 20th century: Schönberg, Bartók and Shostakovich. 

PRD/DSD 350 045

This record is dedicated to the frequent association of two French scores, gems from "la Belle Epoque" (more or less the Edwardian Era), played by a string quartet which, following their mentor Sandor Vegh's example, is undertaking a new career : after a first and brilliant appearance (1976-84) under the name of Orlando, the quartet is back as Párkányí Quartet, from the name of the Hungarian born "primarius", István Párkányí. Only one member was changed, the cellist Michael Müller replacing Stefan Metz.

PRD/DSD 250 208

PRD/DSD 250 168

PRD 250 112

In Metternich's Vienna, chamber music was the favourite distraction of a number of aristocrats and the leisure class as well as student Bohemia. By 1815, a teenaged Franz Schubert had already written (at least) ten scores for quartet, for the family circle, Hausmusik, without seeking to conceal his models borrowed from Haydn and, especially, Mozart. Natural melodic invention, amazingly elaborate harmonic skill and the spirit of the Lied did not fully assert themselves until the Quartettsatz of 1820, an Allegro assai, suddenly filled with anxiety, followed by 41 bars of an Andante suspended forever, ordinarily passed over in silence. Here, the Zemlinskys repeat the fantastic success that marked their previous performances of Dvorák's early quartets (PRD 350 028).

PRD/DSD 350 030

Two arrangements: one, undertaken by Gustav Mahler and revealed in 1984, of the most famous of Schubert’s 15 quartets, ‘Death and the Maiden’, of which he completed only the second movement Andante, which he in fact conducted in concert. Nowadays, such an expansion charms like the transfer of Schönberg’s Verklärte Nacht or Berg’s Lyric Suite to orchestra; the other, attempted many times, finally achieves a soloist-orchestra balance that preserves the Arpeggione‘s divertissement nature. Gaspar Cassadó proposed a version for large symphony orchestra that is somewhat overwhelming in relation to the simplicity of the original text. The present version for cello and strings, of which this is the first recording, offers a viewpoint both concertante and da camera that shows the purity, fraternal élan and timeless character of the cello’s melody to best advantage.

PRD/DSD 250 246

A novel juxtaposition of Schubert’s last quartet, his most enigmatic and most original, with his two string trios, endeavours without successors but prefiguring the harmonic modernism of the late masterpieces. The Pražák Quartet, as in the two sister-works, ‘Rosamunde’ and ‘Death in the Maiden’ (PRD 250 091), renders the dramatic character of this trilogy that announces, without any spiritual break, both the dramatic unity and the Expressionism of the major scores of the Second Vienna School, that of Zemlinsky, Berg and Schönberg.

PRD/DSD 250 240

PRD 250 091

PRD 250 140