Queen’s Hall 9/11/26
Lubomír Havlák violin, Adéla Štajnochrová violin, Martin Stupka viola, Jitka Vlašánková cello
The opening concert of the New Town Concerts 2027-27 season was billed as one not to miss: sadly the Queen’s Hall was only about half full for The Martinů Quartet, playing two string quartets by Czech composers Martinů and Dvořák, and opening with Ravel’s ‘String Quartet in F Major’ (M 35). This concert is part of a celebration tour of the UK in their anniversary year. The Martinů Quartet was founded as the Havlák Quartet by Havlák and his student friend, violist Jan Jíša, in 1976. In an interview with Kuturne.com, Havlák explained the rationale for the change of name: the original name “was more of a student joke [and] then there was a great sympathy for Bohuslav Martinů's music”. (Incidentally he loves not only the classics but also King Crimson.) The ensemble has recorded the complete string quartets by Bohuslav Martinů (with Supraphon) and champions other Czech composers, both past and present. Jitka Vlašánková joined the quartet in 1987, with Adéla Štajnochrová and Martin Stupka joining in 2020 and 2023 respectively.
The bare stage at the Queen’s Hall was adorned with a simple flower arrangement. The Quartet appeared wearing black with bright red poppies in reference to Remembrance Sunday, which drew a murmur of approval from the audience. In the Ravel, they demonstrated exquisite control of the musical conversation with beautifully articulated phrases, shared between the instruments, and an undulating melodic line which seemed to float upwards without resolution. The second movement acknowledges Ravel’s Basque origin with plucked strings, complex rhythms, and at times sharp furious bowing supporting a wistful melody. The third movement is the longest. Motifs from the first movement recur briefly giving a tantalizing sense of half-remembered memories. The finale is full of chaotic energy, driving towards a fiery climax and enabling the Martinů Quartet to showcase the fiery energetic quality of the Czech tradition.
The cellist, Jitka Vlašánková, then shared a few words with the audience. She said it had been her dream to play a concert in the Edinburgh Queen’s Hall since she was 28 and studying in London with the legendary William Pleeth (teacher of Jacqueline du Pré). The Queen’s Hall was mentioned in a conversation with a Festival Director but she didn’t imagine she would ever play there. She was pleased they were playing the string quartet by their namesake, which brought him international recognition.
I was familiar with the Ravel piece but Bohuslav Martinů’s ‘String Quartet No. 2’ (H 50) was new. Nevertheless, it shared some similarities with the Ravel although written some 20 years later. Both Ravel and Martinů were inspired by Debussy. The piece starts with a slow dance between the two violins before a melody appears. Each instrument picks up a phrase and passes it on. Plucked strings remind us of Ravel and a galloping rhythm speeds us to the end of the movement. The second movement takes a slow walk through different tonalities in tension until the opening sequence reappears leading to a gentle close. The finale movement is a lively polka with a sparkling cadenza for the first violin and a dramatic close.
Whereas the first two pieces by Ravel and Martinů developed through complex rhythms and tonal variety, the ‘String Quartet No. 14’ (Op 105) by Dvořák was a more straightforward lyrical piece. It was completed in 1895 and is the final string quartet he composed. David Lee, in the programme notes, calls it “a sort of summing up of a lifetime’s approach to chamber music held together by a series of interconnected motifs that run across all four movements”. It features foot stamping Czech folk dances such as the furiant in the second movement and a polka in the fourth. The piece has a romantic feel with call and response between the cello and the other instruments and a focus on development of themes rather than sporadic reappearance of half-remembered melodies.
This was also the piece that the Martinů Quartet seemed to enjoy playing the most. In the first half of the concert, the players seemed to adopt a rather formal relationship to each other and the music. In the configuration I could see, only the viola player was face on with the others in profile. In this final piece, Martin Stupka became progressively more animated, smiling and encouraging the others.
Jitka Vlašánková spoke again at the end of the concert to say how “worthwhile” the concert had been for them, much better playing to an audience then rehearsing in an empty hall. She introduced their final encore, one of a number of songs, ‘Cypresses’, written by Dvořák when he was a young viola player to the woman he was in love with, singer Josefina Čermáková. She did not return his affections and he later married her sister. In 1887, he selected twelve songs from the cycle as the base for an entirely original arrangement for string quartet. The encore, No. 3 was ‘When Thy Sweet Glances Fall on Me’, a charming, wistful piece to end a superb concert.