A graceful exit: the Pražák Quartet bows out at Prague Spring

By Frank Kuznik, 20 May 2021

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“gave the music a regal quality, a performance fit for a king’s court”

Reviewed at Church of St Lawrence, Prague on 18 May 2021

Feld, String Quartet no. 4

Haydn, String Quartet no. 67 in F major, Op.77 No.2, Hob III:82

Stravinsky, Double Canon

Dvořák, String Quartet no. 14 in A flat major, Op.105

Pražák Quartet

Das Pražák Quartett zeigt lebendige Volksnähe in Lugano

Rolf Kyburz, 21st April

Das Quartett präsentiert romantische Frühwerke von Webern und Schönberg und widmet sich dem tschechischen Nationalkomponisten Smetana.

***11

Classical grace and Romantic eloquence from the Philharmonia

Christopher Woodley, 7th May

The contrasting delights of Schumann, Brahms and Dvořák are powerfully evoked in performances of charm, eloquence and high drama from the Philharmonia, continuing the orchestra’s 80th anniversary celebrations.

****1

Russian Spring: Elder and the Hallé reunite in glorious style

Leighton Jones, 7th May

The music of Glinka, Stravinsky, Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky fills Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall with mystery, intrigue and jollity.

****1

Spacious Prokofiev from Seong-Jin Cho and the Munich Philharmonic

SangKwon Lee, 6th May

Seong-Jin Cho’s premise in Prokofiev is compelling – to reconcile Russian gravitational attack and monumental construction with clarity, colour and contrapuntal legibility.

***11

Marc-André Hamelin surveys two centuries of piano sonatas

Sam Jacobson, 5th May

From Haydn and Beethoven to Weinberg and Rachmaninov, Marc-André Hamelin reveals the piano sonata as a form of breadth, flexibility and expressive power.

****1

Subtle magic: Zubin Mehta celebrates his 90th birthday in Berlin

Zenaida des Aubris, 3rd May

Zubin Mehta celebrates his 90th birthday with a concert at the Staatsoper Berlin.

*****

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Frank Kuznik

Frank Kuznik is the former Editor-in-Chief and Culture Editor of The Prague Post, Central Europe’s premier English-language weekly newspaper. He currently divides his time between Prague and his hometown in the US, Cleveland, where he covers northeast Ohio's dynamic classical music scene. In Prague he is an habitué of the Rudolfinum, National Theater, State Opera and other storied classical music venues, and an unabashed fan of Czech music.