Skampa Quartet

The Skampa Quartet's recording of the Smetana Quartets Nos 1 and 2 (Supraphon SU 3740-2 131) received the first place "Golden Harmony" award for Best Chamber music recording in 2003 and the first place Golden Harmony award for Best CD production by a Czech label in 2003 (awards given by Harmonie Magazine, Prague)

"Ever since their debut in 1993, the Škampas have always offered audiences a veritable workout for mind, body and soul”

Biography

Founded in 1989 at the Prague Academy under the guidance and encouragement of Antonin Kohout and Milan Škampa of the Smetana Quartet, the Škampa Quartet has since established itself on the international chamber music circuit.Within half a year of foundation, the Velvet Revolution gave this young quartet its first taste of freedom to tour abroad to Europe, the United States and the East, where they have been invited ever since to return.

Having studied with Piero Farulli of the Quartetto Italiano, with members of the Amadeus Quartet and with Walter Levin of the LaSalle Quartet, the Škampa Quartet’s excellence was first recognised in 1990 when they became the winners of the Best Quartet prize in the Premio Vittorio Gui competition in Florence. The following year the young quartet was awarded the first prize in the Charles Hennen competition in the Netherlands and in 1992 they received a special prize from the Czech Chamber Music Society.

The Quartet made its debut in February 1993 at Wigmore Hall, an appearance which won them the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for the best debut of that year. William Lyne, the Director of Wigmore Hall, commented on that memorable concert thus: "After their first concert in 1993 one sensed their tremendous rapport with the audience". So much so, that a year later Wigmore Hall appointed the Škampa Quartet as its first artists-in-residence, a highly successful collaboration which lasted five years.

The Škampa Quartet performs regularly throughout Europe, America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand at prestigious venues including Wigmore Hall in London, the Musikverein in Vienna, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Lincoln Center in New York, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Dvořák Hall in Prague.

The quartet enjoys collaborating with other artists and has worked with outstanding concert performers including Josef Suk, Nikolai Demidenko, Kathryn Stott, Melvyn Tan, Dame Anne Evans, Lars Vogt, Ronald van Spaendonck and John Williams and have performed at international festivals including Edinburgh, Melbourne, Aspen, Berlin and Gstaad.

They regularly broadcast on BBC Radio and their Wigmore Hall BBC lunchtime concert with Melvyn Tan was chosen to be the first CD in a series of “Live from Wigmore Hall” recordings on the BBC Worldwide label. The quartet were also featured in the BBC Television series ‘Classic Café’ which was presented live from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as part of the re-opening celebrations. They have made eight recordings on the Supraphon and Legend labels of Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn, Mozart, Ravel, Schubert, Smetana, Janáček, Dvořák and Suk and have collaborated with the Czech cross-over artist/composer Iva Bittova on a unique disc of her music which is a striking blend of gypsy, folk and jazz idioms. Most recently, their recording of Janáček quartets No.s 1 & 2 for Supraphon has received rave reviews.

The members of the Škampa Quartet are increasingly in demand for their teaching and have taught through courses at Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the University in Mexico City and the Royal Academy of Music in London, where in May 2001, they were appointed Visiting Professors of Chamber Music.

Keeping Janáček’s flame burning

Škampa Quartet’s Janáček CD to be released & Royal Academy of Music appointment announced

“Škampa Quartet – Guardians of the Janáček flame” Harmonie Magazine 2001

Summer 2001 sees a busy time for the Škampa Quartet, with their eagerly awaited recording of the Janáček string quartets to be released on the Supraphon label on 3 September 2001, the announcement of their appointment as Visiting Professors of Chamber Music at the Royal Academy of Music and an exciting touring schedule.

Since their formation in 1989 at the Prague Academy, the Škampa Quartet’s connection with Janáček, through Milan Škampa [Smetana Quartet] after whom the quartet are named, has been clearly significant. Milan Škampa’s definitive studies of the two string quartets of Leoš Janáček have served as the basis for these interpretations by the vibrant young Škampa Quartet. Acclaimed by critics worldwide for their exceptional performances of Janáček, the Škampa Quartet are also increasingly in demand around the world, for their teaching. The quartet has taught through courses at Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the University in Mexico City and they have developed an especially strong relationship over recent years with The Royal Academy of Music in London. In May 2001 that relationship was formalised when the Academy announced the Škampa Quartet’s appointment as Visiting Professors of Chamber Music.

Skampa On-line Reviews

Skampa Concerts Press Quotations

"The evening's crowning glory, a Ravel to treasure. The four youngish musicians gave Ravel's only string quartet, the 1903 F Major, a hushed, warm, velvety, and sensuous performance that lit up the dark hall. Ravel got his splendid due."

“It may be no surprise that the Škampa Quartet, the most successful young Czech quartet, should have mastered the idioms of their homeland. But they also created a compelling narrative through the complexities and discontinuities of each piece (Janáček String Quartets). Every moment from bizarre harmonics to powerful climaxes, was integrated into the ebb and flow of the whole drama…these were profoundly uplifting performances”

“These days, high quality string quartets abound – but few can claim to have attained the heights revealed last night by this Prague ensemble [Škampa Quartet] …they came as near to perfection as one is ever likely to hear”

“The Škampa Quartet has been in existence for a little over a decade, yet in that time it has become one of the most exciting and sought-after chamber ensembles around...”

“Ever since their debut in 1993, the Škampas have always offered audiences a veritable workout for mind, body and soul”

“Their [Škampa Quartet] shared song built and sustained an intensity which fed the very roots of the finale; it grew, through the murmuring of its still, small voices and its divine dance, into what often sounded like a struggle for existence itself”

“These performances exude authority, and do throw a sharper focus on innumerable aspects of both quartets.”Janáček String Quartets CD)

“…standard repertoire it may be but I couldn’t hear Brahm’s chamber music too often when the performances are as complete as these [Škampa Quartet with Naoko Shimizu]

“The young Škampas… bring a deeply felt lyricism to Janáček’s apparently terse and episodic writing, punctuated by moments of abrasively intrusive drama…the Škampa Quartet’s more beautiful interpretations are welcome alternative views”

“…they [Škampa Quartet] are young, amiable, professional and most importantly always play at the highest artistic standards!”

“The Škampa Quartet warmed our hearts with one of those not-to-be-forgotten recitals”

“It is most unusual for an ensemble to reach the pinnacle of international recognition within 10 years of its formation, yet the Škampa’s playing on Tuesday wholly justified such an illustrious reputation”

“The Pump Room audience listened with rapt attention to four friends discussing life through the medium of music…the quartet excelled in performance of Suk’s Meditation, ranging through magical delicacy to intense pain with equal ease...here are four musicians who have thought deeply about interpretation, resulting in their ability to play as a single unit”

“The way it ( Dvořák American) was played this time ( Škampa Quartet) was an object lesson in how to bring to the music a true Czech accent, running through each movement with a natural buoyancy of rhythm and phrasing that never seemed superimposed”

"The Škampa Quartet’s account of the middle movements (Janáček 1) is one of the most chillingly poised I have heard, with some remarkable sul ponticello playing."

"The Škampas brought to the Fifth Quartet (Dvořák) buoyant quality with light bowstrokes, perfectly capturing the work’s blend of charm and erudition."

"The Škampa Quartet reminds me more and more of the old Janáček Quartet of Brno – whose members would surely have enjoyed the Škampa’s full-hearted, broad toned renderings of Janáček’s two works.

"Visits to the Wigmore Hall by its resident Škampa Quartet have become red-letter dates in London's chamber music season, and their return on Saturday fulfilled all expectations … The Škampas play with urgent, communicative intensity. Their collective sound is bold and exciting, based on warm tone and vigorous attack. They can make any dissonance heartachingly beautiful …"

"They are one of the best young quartets around, as their all-Schubert programme amply demonstrated … no lover of chamber music should miss them."

"It has the smoothness and virtuosity favored by modern string quartets, but it also inherits an older Central European tradition of string playing, one is which music is as warmly inflected as a conversation."

"The euphonious musicality and unforced grace of style of the Škampa – every phrase given the illusion of displaying its own innate weight and direction, every rhythmic pattern naturally tapped – are characteristics that might be deemed traditionally Czech. This arresting combination of tradition and innovation may perhaps be ascribed to the coaching the group has received from Milan Škampa … The use of his surname pays a compliment which is handsomely returned, for the performances had a shining freshness miles removed from the hard-drilled or the masterclass-copied."

"The quartet's quality of sound had a genuine, resonant depth only rarely found. The colours were well varied, worlds away from the American style of steely purity, so that I wondered if they might have been playing on gut strings …Not a phrase went by without having been carefully thought about and placed in context."

"A fluent, highly polished account of Schubert's C minor Quartettsatz shows the Škampa to be one of the brightest among today's young chamber groups."

"Intensity and vigor are the hallmarks of the Škampa Quartet …a laudable combination of passion and finesse."

"Among the many joys of going to the Wigmore in recent years has been the opportunity to watch the Škampa Quartet steadily grow in stature through its residency at the Hall."

"Very earnest, very controlled, and very tight, the Škampa is undoubtedly a group to reckon with."

"...a young Czech string quartet astonished their audience with playing which combined exuberance and passion with maturity and technical accomplishment that seemed well beyond their years."

"The Škampas play with urgent, communicative intensity. Their collective sound is bold and exciting, based on warm tone and vigorous attack. They can make any dissonance heartachingly beautiful..."
"The quartet's quality of sound had a genuine, resonant depth only rarely found. The colours were well varied, worlds away from the American style of steely purity.... Not a phrase went by without having been carefully thought about and placed in context."

"In a branch of music-making which requires years of concentrated study and an essential feel for the medium, this youthful Czech quartet must be counted an outstanding success. Indeed their opening performance of [Haydn's] String Quartet in D Minor (Op. 76/2 "Fifths") had a degree of technical accomplishment and vitality that delighted this knowledgeable audience.... The triumph of the evening was a superb account of Smetana's String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor."

"...the playing from the young group was remarkable, vital and involving from the opening bars of the Schubert movement.... Chamber music rarely gets any better than this."

"They played [Janacek's First Quartet] with the drama of a four-movement opera.... For all their intuitive strengths playing Janacek, in a late Beethoven Quartet (Op. 127) they had as much to offer. In the adagio, the most difficult to carry, they maintained shapely, beautifully spun long lines. Radim Sedmidubský played the Finale's prominent viola phrases with the sort of imagination that turns a listener into a devotee."

"...it's not unusual for players so young to have such technical prowess. But the musical maturity, cohesion, and wealth of interpretive imagination the group possesses are rare at any age."

"Their playing prompted a clear response from the audience, for its energy and daring made participants of those listening."

"...a laudable combination of passion and finesse.... The Czech musicians perform as a unit, one which thinks together, yet the individual players retain their personalities."

"The four musicians of the Škampa Quartet... are something like the true embodiment of Bohemian music culture.... Seamless ensemble playing, fantasy and sensitivity, beauty of tone, strength in playing, and creative drive unite to provide a masterful, mature, stylistically secure musical presentation.... In Joseph Haydn's Quartet Op. 76/4, which first violinist Fischer began with melodic magic, they left no doubt about the seriousness of their musical work."

On the Škampa Quartet's recordings:

“The Škampa’s minutely inflected lines and fine sense of balance reveal the raw nerves of Beethoven’s melody…..two outstanding performances” ( Beethoven Op127&135 CD )

“However one views these performances ( Škampa Quartet Beethoven Op127&135 CD) – and they are bound to be controversial – there is no denying their commanding intensity, technical polish and remarkably fresh approach to scores that have become all too familiar”

“Bright and bushy-tailed Beethoven, with plenty of thought beneath the notes. Probably the Škampa’s best CD to date.”

"In this superb account [of Smetana's Quartet No. 2] the group unfailingly responds to the varying moods of a composer edging towards dementia.... The dramatic and deeply moving aspects are so perfectly conveyed in a performance that has each instrument carefully balanced in relation to the others. Every minute detail in the score is revealed, while at the same time they produce a warm tonal quality in the more tender passages."

"A fluent, highly polished account of Schubert's C minor 'Quartettsatz' shows the Škampa to be one of the brightest among today's young chamber groups. Its exceptional interpretive range and musical intelligence are confirmed by splendid performances of quartets by Haydn (the Fifths) and Ravel."

Škampa Discography

	SU 0162-2 131 (Supraphon) (April 1995)	Beethoven: String Quartet in F minor, Op 95 "Serioso" Smetana: String Quartet in D minor No 2 Dvorak: Two waltzes from Op 54
	SU 3156-2 131 (Supraphon) (June 1996)	Haydn: String Quartet in D minor, Op 76, No 2 "Fifths"; Schubert: "Quartett-Satz" in C minor, D 703; Ravel: String Quartet in F major
	SU 3313-2 131 (Supraphon) (June 1997)	Beethoven: String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2 "Razumovsky" Mozart: Quintet in A major for Clarinet, 2 Violins, Viola & Cello, K. 581 "Stadler Quintet" (with clarinetist Ronald van Spaendonck)
	SU 3380-2 131 (Supraphon) (August 1998)	Dvorák: String Quartet in F Major, Op. 96 "American" Brahms: String Quartet in C Minor, Op. 51, No. 1
	SU 3371-2 931 (Supraphon) (Sept 1998)	Iva Bittová Classic Iva Bittová: Quatuor pour Cora (contemporary Czech composer of folk/jazz music)
	BBCW1001/2 (BBC Music) (October 1999)	Janácek: String Quartet No 1 Dvorák: Piano Quintet (with Melvyn Tan on piano)
	SU 3464-2 131 (Supraphon) (March 2000)	Beethoven: String Quartet No 12 in E Flat Major, Op 127 String Quartet No 16 in F Major, Op 135
	SU 3486-2 131 (Supraphon) (September 2001)	Janácek: String Quartets No 1 and No 2
	SU 3740-2 131 (Supraphon) (September 2003)	Smetana: String Quartets No 1 in E minor "From my life" and No 2 in D minor Golden Harmony award for Best Chamber music recording in 2003 and Golden Harmony award for Best CD production by a Czech label in 2003
	SU 3794-2 (Supraphon) (April 2004)	Janácek: Moravian Folk Poetry in Songs (with Iva Bittová). Transcription for voice and string quartet by Vladimír Godár, arrangement by Iva Bittová and Škampa Quartet.

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Contacts

Skampa Quartet	UK and Australasia Management	North American Management
Jana Fiurášková Skampa Quartet Secretary Mobile: +420 602 311 469 Tel : +420 222 319 251 Fax: +420 222 310 784 j.fiuraskova@fok.cz skampaquartet@yahoo.com	Valerie Barber Valerie Barber PR & Personal Management, Suite 2, 9a St John's Wood High Street, London NW8 7NG Tel: 020 7586 8560 Fax: 020 7586 9246 vbpr@btclick.com	Frank Salomon Associates 201 West 54th Street, Suite 1C New York, NY 10019 Tel: 212-581-5197 Fax: 212-581-4029 info@franksalomon.com http://www.franksalomon.com/
Benelux Management	Swiss Agent	South and Latin American Management
Elisabeth van Alphen de Veer Brembos 1 5688 LC Oirschot The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)6 46052436 skampa@skampamanagement.nl Inge Lobbezoo Tel: +31 (0)6 12582615 info@skampamanagement.nl www.skampamanagement.nl	Charlie Hermanska Postbus 61138 NL- 2506 AC Den Haag The Netherlands Tel (Swiss Office): +41 (0)27 722 6884 Mobile: +41 (0)9 241 5427 hermanska@interartists.nl	Impresariat, Praha Anna Hrindová Tel: +60 12 221 7058 Fax: +60 3 4251 6404 impresah@streamyx.com
German Agent
M-Impresariat Friedrich Robert Müller Von-Leyden-Straße 50 D-65191 Wiesbaden Tel: +49(0)611/561442 Fax: +49(0)611/2384949 E-mail: mueller@m-impresariat.de

This page maintained by Škampa Quartet fan Colin Whitby-Strevens. Last modified 14^th May 2006

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News, April 2004: Skampa receives two Golden Harmony Awards