Kocian Quartet

As a violist, the young Czech butcher's son Antonin Dvorák (1841-1904) came into contact with an extensive repertoire under such conductors as Smetana and Wagner. His first compositions brought him not only a scholarship but also the unconditional support of Brahms. His works soon found success in Europe and the United States. But he always remained true to himself: modest, religious and a Czech. His fifteen string quartets are the perfect barometer of his compositional interests: evolving from tonal experiments in the 1860s, through a more classical approach in the mid-1870s, to his 'American' style after 1890. The brilliant, Slav-tinted Kocian Quartet opens this concert with the quartet adaptation of a youthful work, the 'Cypresses' song-cycle. In the Eighth Quartet we hear the 'classical' Dvorák and end with the inevitable - and probably most popular - 'American' quartet from 1893.