The Wihan Quartet is one of the leading string quartets to emerge in recent years from the great Czech school of performance. Formed in 1985, the quartet has earned an extraordinary reputation for its interpretation of both domestic Czech repertoire and many of the foremost works of the quartet repertoire of the Classical and Romantic periods, as well as modern works.
Its developing and admirable international career includes appearances at leading festivals in Europe and the Far East. It performs regularly in the USA and has also toured Australia and New Zealand to considerable acclaim. He is a frequent guest in the UK and his performances are often featured on Radio 3 as well as Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, South Bank and many other venues.
The Wihan Quartet has won many international competitions – the Prague Spring Festival in 1988, the International Chamber Music Competition in Trapani, Sicily in 1990 and the Osaka Chamber Music Festival in 1996, resulting in new invitations to Japan each year. In 1991, the group won both first prize and the audience prize at the London International String Quartet Competition. Three times the quartet has been nominated for the Royal Philharmonic Society Award in recognition of its outstanding educational work and performance in the UK. The quartet’s discography – over 40 CDs – is testament to its warm relationship with Czech music, but also includes many classical, romantic and modern works in the quartet repertoire. His recording of Shönberg’s Quartet No.4, together with Pfitzner’s Quartet No.2, won the highest award from the French magazine Repertoire. His final CD of the Beethoven Quartet cycle for Lotus was released in December 2005 at the quartet’s 20th anniversary concert at the Rudolfinum in Prague. The quartet is the quartet in residence at Trinity College of Music in London. While in the UK, the Wihans regularly perform for the CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust in concerts organised to promote chamber music among young people. The quartet has also given masterclasses at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama Cardiff and participated in a number of courses such as the Darlington International Summer School and Pro Corda.
In the 2007-2008 season the ensemble performed the complete quartet works of Ludwig van Beethoven in 6 concerts. The concerts took place at the Agnes Convent in Prague. A recording of these concerts was made and released on CD and DVD by Nimbus Alliance in the UK.
In 2009 the same label released a unique recording of N. Paganini’s 24 Capriccios. This, his Opus 1, was arranged for string quartet by the American composer William Zinn. During the 2012/2013 season, WQ was the resident ensemble of the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Music Society and performed a number of concerts at the Rudolfinum.
WQ regularly records CDs and DVDs for the Nimbus Alliance, for which it has received many awards from professional critics.
Wihan Quartet:
Leoš Čepický – violin
Jan Schulmeister – violin
Jakub Čepický – viola
Michal Kaňka – cello
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