THE NEW BENNEWITZ QUARTET ALBUM

Today, the Bennewitz Quartet is one of the world’s elite chamber music ensembles, giving concerts on prestigious stages worldwide and earning great critical acclaim for their playing and for their unique choice of repertoire, as is reaffirmed by their new album titled An Evening in Vienna 1784, bringing to life a musical encounter exactly 240 years ago between four major composers: Haydn, Mozart, Dittersdorf, and Vaňhal. The album will be released by Supraphon on Friday, 20 September 2024 on CD and in digital formats.

In his diary, Michael Kelly, an Irish tenor, noted his experience at a musical soiree in Vienna: “The composer Storace gave a quartet party to his friends. The players were tolerable, not one of them excelled on the Instrument he played; but there was a little science among them, which I dare say will be acknowledged when I name them: first violin Haydn, second violin Baron Dittersdorf, violoncello Vanhal, viola Mozart…”, and this recollection remains a source of much musicological speculation as well as inspiration for a new Bennewitz Quartet album fittingly titled An Evening in Vienna 1784.

About their new recording, the second violinist Štěpán Ježek says: “The historically documented gathering of the four composers Haydn, Dittersdorf, Mozart, and Vaňhal, their friendship, and their mutual inspiration were the perfect inducement for us to make a recording featuring works by all of them. We chose specific works on the basis of when the compositions were written, so they would coincide with the time when the actual gathering took place, so it was probable that they were actually played that evening. In the course of several seasons, we played this programme on a variety of stages such as the Brucknerhaus in Linz or the beautiful hall of the Würzburg Residence. Meanwhile, our view of the music noticeably developed and transformed itself, so the programme’s resulting form for the new album emerged from a real creative process. We therefore came to feel that the whole programme had matured interpretively enough that it made sense to record it for posterity.”

Many people know the names of the composers Dittersdorf and Vaňhal, but there are few who have become familiar with their works. The new recording by the Bennewitz Quartet is an opportunity to discover these nearly forgotten masters, about which Štěpán Ježek adds: “The hardest thing, but also the most interesting for us, was finding the personal nuances in the musical languages of each of the four composers, and to delineate these characteristic moments appropriately, allowing them to stand out. As far as Vaňhal is concerned, he has a lyricism that is decidedly closer to Mozart, but his music is more archaic harmonically, with passages where one hears the legacy of the baroque masters. On the other hand, Dittersdorf is often earthy and direct, making him resemble Haydn more.”

Supraphon is releasing the album just after the Bennewitz Quartet appeared at the festival Dvořákova Praha, then during the new season they return to Berlin’s Konzerthaus and to Wigmore Hall in London. In November, the quartet heads for the USA for appearances including a concert in the historic hall of the Harvard Musical Association in Boston.

Bennewitz Quartet members: Jakub Fišer – 1st violin, Štěpán Ježek – 2nd violin, Jiří Pinkas – viola, Štěpán Doležal – cello