Wihan Quartet
The Wihan Quartet, formed in 1985 and heirs to the great Czech musical tradition, continues to this day with its original four members. The Quartet’s outstanding reputation for the interpretation of its native Czech heritage and of the many classical, romantic and modern masterpieces of the string quartet repertoire is widely acknowledged.
They have developed an impressive international career, which includes visits to major festivals in Europe and the Far East. They visit the United States and Japan regularly and have had highly acclaimed tours of Australia and New Zealand. They are frequent visitors to the UK and can often be heard on BBC Radio 3 as well as in concert at Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, the South Bank and many other venues throughout the country.
The Wihan Quartet has won many International Competitions including The Prague Spring Festival and the Osaka ‘Chamber Festa’. In 1991, they won both the First Prize and the Audience Prize in the London International String Quartet Competition.
The Quartet has made many recordings and full details of their discography of over 25 CDs, and also the DVD of their 20th Anniversary concert in Prague, can be found on their website. Their recordings of all the Beethoven String Quartets, for Lotos, Prague, are now available as a boxed set. Their most recent release of Smetana Quartets on Arco Diva has attracted many excellent reviews. MusicWeb said: “The music making on this disc has a feeling of "rightness" that makes comparisons largely superfluous”
From October 2007 to March 2008, the Wihan will give the first - ever series of all the Beethoven Quartets in Prague, and this series will be repeated in the UK over the following months.
The Wihan are 'Quartet in Residence' at Trinity College of Music, London, and for several years have taught many of the UK’s gifted young Quartets at Pro Corda in Suffolk. The Quartet are great supporters of the work of the CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust, giving inspirational concerts and master classes to young people in many parts of the country.
To find out about the members of the Wihan Quartet, please click on their names below.
Wihan Quartet
general manager: Maureen Phillips
Upbeat Classical Management, PO Box 479, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 2ZH, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1895 259 441 • wihan@upbeatclassical.co.uk • www.upbeatclassical.co.uk
