Wihan Quartet

‘one of the best quartets in the world today’ – International Record Review

‘one of the world’s finest chamber ensembles’ – BBC Music Magazine

Described as one of the leading string quartets to emerge from the Czech school of performance, the Wihan Quartet have gained an international reputation for interpretations of music from their homeland, having received acclaim for their recordings of works by Smetana and Dvořák across their 40 years of playing together.

In this opening concert of the MCCS 26/27 season, they turn their attention to Czech composer Leoš Janáček with his String Quartet No. 1, ‘Kreutzer Sonata’, alongside two equally dramatic works.

The concert opens with Mozart’s sweeping string quartet No. 15. This is followed by Janáček’s ‘Kreutzer Sonata’ quartet, inspired by a tale from Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Depicting a story of an adulterous wife and her murderous husband, this is music that paints a picture of passion, jealousy and dark deeds. 

The literary theme continues with Schubert’s powerful and lament-filled Quartet No. 14, a piece inspired by his previously composed song ‘Death and the Maiden’, which was itself based on a work of German poetry.