Béla Bartók (1881-1945): String Quartet No. 2 (1915-1917)
Allegro Barbaro

Emil Petrovics (1930-): String Quartet No. 2 (1991)
Lento-Presto-Lento

Ernõ Dohnányi (1877-1960): Piano Quintet c minor op. 1 (1899)
Allegro - Allegro Vivace - Adagio, quasi andante - Allegro

The Bartók Quartet's tonal beauty, clarity, directness and exceptional ensemble playing has caused critics and audiences alike to acclaim it as one of the most distinguished chamber groups on the international scene. "It is clearly one of the great quartets of the world" (The New York Times). In 1997-98 the quartet celebrated its 40th anniversary season.

Formed in 1957, the Bartók Quarter rose to worldwide fame as winner of the 1959 International Haydn Competition in Budapest, and International Schumann Competition in Berlin the following year. In 1963, the group captured first place at the Budapest competition and the prestigious International String Quartet Competition in Liege, Belgium. The Kossuth Prize - Hungary's highest award - was conferred upon the quartet in 1970 and again in 1997, the first time the prize had been given twice to any ensemble. Further awards: Unesco Prize 1981, Bartók Prize 1986.

The quartet members first came together at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, where they began playing chamber music under the tutelage of the renowned teacher and composer Leo Weiner. Inspired and encouraged by Weiner, they formed a professional ensemble, calling themselves the Komlos Quartet, from 1963 to be renamed the Bartók Quartet in honor of their great countryman, Béla Bartók. The musicians perform on fur of the finest instruments of the eighteenth century (Péter Komlós plays the famed "Hamma" Stradivarius, built in 1731).

The Bartók Quartet has performed over 3,500 concerts throughout the world, and its frequent tours of North America have taken them to virtually every major music center, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, St. Louis, Baltimore, New Orleans, Quebec, Toronto and Montreal. Its recent schedules have taken it to such major festivals as Tanglewood, Spoleto, Salzburg, Edinburgh, Aix-en-Provence and Lucerne.

The Bartók Quartet is equally at home with repertory from the classical throughout the contemporary eras, but may be best known for performances of works by its illustrious denominator.

Source: Concert Program

Pianist Péter Frankl made his London debut in 1962 and his New York debut with the Cleveland Orchestra under George Széll in 1967. Since that time he has performed with many of the world's finest orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw, Israel Philharmonic, Orchestra de Paris, all the London orchestras, and the major American orcestras. He has collaborated with such eminent conductors as Abbado, Boulez, Davis, Heiting, Maazel, Masur, Muti, Salonen and Solti. His world tours have taken him to Japan, and American festivals. His may chamber music partners have included Kyung Wha Chung, Peter Csaba, Ralph Kirschbaum, and the Tokyo, Takács, Guarneri, Bartók, and Lindsay quartets. Among his recordings are the complete works for piano by Schumann and Debussy, Bartók and Chopin soo albums, a Hungarian anthology, concerti and four-hand works by Mozart, the two Brahms piano concerti, the Brahms violin and clarinet sonatas, the Brahms, Schumann, Dvorak, and Martinu. In recognition of his artistic achievements, Mr. Frankl was awarded the Order of Merit by the Republic of Hungary. He joined the Yale faculty in 1987.

Related links:

Bartók Quartet koncert - 2005, Passaic, NJ

Hungarian Consulate, New York

Hungarian Consulate General NY @ gimagine