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Sunday, September 18, 2022, 8.00 pm
Dvořák Collection Chamber Series

Ticket prices

490 — 390 Kč

Programme

Rafael Kubelík: String Quartet No. 6Martin Wiesner: String Quartet No. 4 (world premiere)Antonín Dvořák: String Quartet No. 6 in A Minor, Op. 12, B. 40

Within the Chamber Series and Dvořák Collection, the members of the Sedláček Quartet will introduce themselves as discoverers of neglected or forgotten treasures. While it might seem that in the works of Antonín Dvořák there is little left to discover, the String Quartet No. 6 in A Minor proves the contrary. In it, the composer attempted to create a monolithic work built upon a single idée fixe, but he later revised the quartet, dividing it into four movements. Eventually he destroyed some parts of the score, and the work was not premiered until 1990, in the form reconstructed by the Dvořák specialist Jarmil Burghauser. In the context of Dvořák’s quartets, the work is a noteworthy curiosity, and essential for a complete Dvořák Collection, while also keeping with the artistic profile of the Sedláček Quartet. The ensemble’s concert will also remind us that the famous Czech conductor Rafael Kubelík was also a composer. Their programme will begin with his String Quartet No. 6. Thereafter, the Sedláček Quartet will give the world premiere of the String Quartet No. 4 by Martin Wiesner.

  • Dress code: dark suit
  • Doors close: 7.55 pm
  • End of concert: 9.20 pm

Artists

Sedlacek Quartet

The origins of the Sedlacek Quartet date back to 2007, at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (AMU), following the tradition of the original Sedlacek Quartet in Pilsen (1974 - 1994), as a family musical heritage. The ensemble has developed ever since under the tutelage of many reputable music teachers, such as Jiří Panocha, during their chamber music studies at the AMU. Later they also took several masterclasses led by the members of renowned string quartets, such as Keller Quartett, Artis Quartett Wien, Tel Aviv Quartet, or Alban Berg Quartett. The Sedlacek Quartet has appeared at renowned festivals in the Czech Republic and abroad, including the isa - International Summer Academy, the International Music Festival Young Prague, the Ludwig van Beethoven Festival Teplice or the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades and other. The ensemble is the winner of the Czech Chamber Music Society Award (2016), also won the prizes in the Karol Szymanowski International Music Competition in Katowice and the Bohuslav Martinů Music Competition in Prague, both in 2014. Later claimed the 3rd prize in the Leoš Janáček and Johannes Brahms International Music Competition.

The hallmark of the Sedlacek Quartet is, however, their focus on the music which is not a part of a standard chamber music repertoire. This includes Czech works in particular (along with other world’s composers), which were either never published, or rarely performed, so this way the ensemble makes more of the unknown compositions come to life. They have already made recordings of K. Slavický, S. Hořínka, B. Martinů or J. Teml, with the participation of Bohuslav Martinů Foundation. With the oboist Lukáš Pavlíček, they also recorded the music of F. A. Míča, W. A. Mozart and A. Dvořák. In 2017 then recorded the complete string quartet works of V. J. Veit (1806-1864). In 2019 followed the CD with three of Rafael Kubelík’s (1914-1996) string quartets, which they self-published. The latest great recording project has been the completion of all the string quartets by K. B. Jirák (1891-1972), this time for the Czech Radio.

Source: Sedláčkovo kvarteto

Sedlacek Quartet

St. Agnes Convent

The Convent of St. Agnes in the 'Na Františku' neighbourhood of Prague's Old Town is considered the first Gothic structure not only in Prague but in all of Bohemia. It was founded by King Wenceslas I in 1233–34 at the instigation of his sister, the Přemyslid princess Agnes of Bohemia, for the Order of Saint Clare which Agnes introduced into Bohemia and of which she was the first abbess. The convent was preceded by a hospital. The 'Poor Clares' originated as an offshoot of the Order of St. Francis of Assisi, and the convent was at one time known as the Prague Assisi. Agnes was an outstanding figure in religious life of the thirteenth century. Besides this Clarist convent she also founded the only Czech religious order – the Hospital Order of the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star. She was canonized in 1989.