THE PRAZAK STRING QUARTET,from PRAGUE
Vaclav Remes, violin | Vlastimil Holek, violin | Josef Kluson, viola | Michal Kanka, cello
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2008 ~ 7:30 PM
The Prazak Quartet, on tour from the Czech Republic, will be the featured artists in the third concert of the Ames Town & Gown season, presenting a program of music by Czech composers of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. This concert will take place in the Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall on the campus of Iowa State University.
MASTER CLASS
The Prazak Quartet also will conduct a master class at 1 p.m. in the Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall in ISU Music Hall on November 14. Two university chamber music ensembles will perform and receive instruction and coaching from the members of the quartet. This event, sponsored by the Department of Music at Iowa State University, is supported by the Alvin Edgar Fund. All are welcome to attend free of charge.
ALL CZECH PROGRAM
Divertimento , Op. 5, No. 1 of 18th-century Czech composer Franz Xaver Richter
String Quartet No. 1 ("Kreutzer Sonata") by Leoš Janáček
Quartet No. 1 in E minor ("From My Life") by Bedřich Smetana.
The Prazak Quartet—one of today’s leading international chamber music ensembles—was established in 1972 while its members were students at the Prague Conservatory. Since then, the quartet has gained attention for its place in the unique Czech quartet tradition, as well as its musical virtuosity. In 1978, they were winners of the prestigious Evan International Quartet competition. At home on music stages worldwide, they are regular guests in the major European musical capitals. During this fall’s North American tour, they will be performing in nine venues including Tucson, Vancouver, Lincoln Center in New York, and Ames, Iowa! The quartet members are Michal Kanka, cello; Vlastimil Holek viola; Vaclav Remes, violin; and Josef Kluson, viola. Their playing was described in the San Francisco Chronicle as “singularly compelling.” Gramophone wrote, “The Prazak’s excellent sense of rhythm and meticulous attention to dynamics is allied to a high level of musical understanding. . .especially convincing. . .beautifully poised. . .splendid.” To date, the quartet has released 35 award-winning CDs, some of which will be available for sale at their Ames concert on November 14.
Tickets to the concert are $25 and are available at the door or in advance at Rieman Music, 327 Main Street, Ames, and in the ISU music department office. Tickets may also be ordered on the Ames Town & Gown website. Student tickets are available free of charge for K-12, college and university (with ID).
The concert on November 14 is presented in cooperation with the ISU Department of Music and with financial support from the Commission of the Arts (COTA), the many Ames Town & Gown season ticket holders and its individual and business donors. Free student tickets are made possible by a grant from Target.