The opening concert of the OCMS season is a welcome return to Oxford of the Martinů Quartet on the 50th anniversary of their founding in 1976. The quartet has built a distinguished reputation, combining the central European quartet repertoire with a particular commitment to Czech music. From the outset, the ensemble developed a disciplined approach to performance, emphasising balance, precision, and structural awareness.
Critics have highlighted their ‘lovely sound’ and ‘clear interpretive opinion’ (KlasikaPlus) as well as their ‘beautifully and intensely conveyed’ performances with a ‘bright, honest sound’ (BBC Music Magazine).
Over the decades, they have performed in many of Europe’s major chamber-music venues and festivals. Their discography has contributed significantly to the renewed attention given to Martinů’s chamber music. A multi-volume recording project of the composer’s string quartets established the ensemble as one of the foremost interpreters of this repertoire.
Our concert today opens with Ravel’s quartet which displays a ‘brilliant juxtaposition of formality and sensuality, and his incredible use of tone color‘ (LA Phil). The centrepiece of the programme, Martinů’s quartet, written during the composer’s early years in Paris, blends Czech rhythmic energy with a cosmopolitan musical language. The concert concludes with the String Quintet by Schubert, an expansive late work whose additional cello creates a rich, resonant sound world. Its serene Adagio stands among the most profound slow movements in the chamber repertoire.
The quartet is joined today by Gemma Rosefield, described by The Strad as ‘a mesmerising musical treasure’. She has given solo recitals at the Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, and in The Diligentia, The Hague. Gemma has played throughout Europe, the USA, Russia, Japan, Mexico, Kenya and New Zealand. She is cellist with Ensemble 360 and the Leonore Piano Trio with whom she has made several recordings for Hyperion Records.
Lubomír Havlák (violin), Adéla Štajnochrová (violin), Martin Stupka (viola), Jitka Vlašánková (cello), with Gemma Rosefield (cello)
Photos: © Petra Hajská and © Gemma Rosefield