The Zemlinsky Quartet

The Zemlinsky Quartet, founded in 1994, has built upon the rich tradition of the Czech string quartet school from its very beginnings. In 2010, it won the International String Quartet Competition in Bordeaux. The ensemble is also a laureate of international competitions in Banff (2007), Prague (Prague Spring 2005), and London (2006), where it additionally received the Audience Prize. It has won further competitions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Beethoven’s Hradec 1999, New Talent Bratislava 2003, Music Critics’ Award Žilina 2004, and the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation Competition in Prague). In 2005, the quartet received the Prize of the Czech Chamber Music Society, and in 2009 the Alexander Zemlinsky Foundation Prize in Vienna. In the 2016/17 season, it was the resident ensemble of the Czech Chamber Music Society.

The Zemlinsky Quartet performs regularly both in the Czech Republic and internationally (Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, the UK, Ireland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Canada, USA, Brazil, South Korea). It has appeared at Wigmore Hall, Cité de la Musique in Paris, the Library of Congress in Washington, Seoul Arts Center, and repeatedly at the Prague Spring Festival. Its repertoire comprises more than 360 works, including contemporary compositions. The ensemble collaborates with distinguished artists and ensembles and has made numerous recordings for Czech Radio, including the complete string quartets of F. X. Richter.

Between 2007 and 2018, the quartet recorded exclusively for Praga Digitals, producing nineteen titles. Its first project – four CDs of early Dvořák quartets – received the prestigious Diapason d’Or. The quartet has since completed the full Dvořák quartet cycle (as only the fourth ensemble in history), recorded Janáček’s quartets, and collaborated with the Belgian label Evil Penguin.

The ensemble studied with leading Czech quartets and with Walter Levin of the LaSalle Quartet. Its members have also been active pedagogically in Basel and Prague. The quartet is named after Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky (1871–1942), whose four string quartets form a core part of its repertoire.