Zemlinsky Quartet

The second string quartet was written by the composer, pianist and conductor Alexander Zemlinsky in Prague, when he held the position of music director of the New German Theater, and he devoted two years of work between 1913 and 1915 to its composition. The quartet is one of the highlights of Zemlinsky's work and is dedicated to his former Viennese composition student and lifelong friend Arnold Schönberg. It will be heard in a performance by an ensemble proudly bearing the composer's name and spreading his still underappreciated legacy. Bohuslav Martinů's second string piece, on the other hand, was created in Paris in 1925, and for this composition the author won not only the admiration of his fellow composers, but also his first contract with a major foreign publisher - the Viennese Universal Edition. In contrast, hisString Quartet no. 3from 1929 can be considered an experimental work on the border between tonality and atonality, which is completely outside Martin's other work. It was written for the Roth Quartet - an ensemble famous for its interpretation of contemporary music and had its premiere in the USA in 1932.

Program:

• Alexander Zemlinsky : String Quartet No. 2 Op. 15
• Bohuslav Martinů: String Quartet no. 2 H150
• Bohuslav Martinů: String Quartet no. 3 H183