Prazak Quartet
The new Prazak Quartet is the evolution of the Prazak Quartet, which has performed with great success throughout the world for almost 50 years. This evolution began in 2015 when Jana Vonášková joined the quartet as first violin, bringing new blood to the group. Since her arrival, she has captivated audiences and critics alike with her expressive interpretations of the greatest works written for this chamber music group, including the complete Beethoven quartets.
After careful consideration, the original Prazak Quartet has decided to withdraw at the end of the 2020-21 season and form a new formation under the same name, the Prazak Quartet 2020. The quartet's mainstays, violist and founding member Josef Klusoň and Jana Vonášková, will continue the tradition.
The new members, second violinist Marie Fuxová and cellist Jonáš Krejčí, have extensive experience in chamber music and quartet performances, having played with the Pavel Haas, Škampa, and Petersen Quartets, as well as in many renowned orchestras and chamber ensembles. They bring their own experience and energy while remaining true to the tradition, character, and quality of the Czech Quartet.
The ensemble offers a broad repertoire from early classical to contemporary works, as well as renowned Czech quartet literature. Projects also include music by Czech-Jewish composers who perished during the Holocaust—Schulhoff, Ullmann, Krasa, Klein, and Haas.
The quartet's two new recordings for the Praga Digitals label (released in 2021 and 2022) include a disc of the last three quartets by Joseph Haydn, which has been praised by The Strad and Diapason, among others, and a disc in collaboration with pianist Francois Dumont commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Cesar Franck, released in June 2022. Next season, which will mark important anniversaries of Czech composers, the quartet plans to record works by Dvořák's pupils Josef Suk and Vitězslav Novák.
After careful consideration, the original Prazak Quartet has decided to withdraw at the end of the 2020-21 season and form a new formation under the same name, the Prazak Quartet 2020. The quartet's mainstays, violist and founding member Josef Klusoň and Jana Vonášková, will continue the tradition.
The new members, second violinist Marie Fuxová and cellist Jonáš Krejčí, have extensive experience in chamber music and quartet performances, having played with the Pavel Haas, Škampa, and Petersen Quartets, as well as in many renowned orchestras and chamber ensembles. They bring their own experience and energy while remaining true to the tradition, character, and quality of the Czech Quartet.
The ensemble offers a broad repertoire from early classical to contemporary works, as well as renowned Czech quartet literature. Projects also include music by Czech-Jewish composers who perished during the Holocaust—Schulhoff, Ullmann, Krasa, Klein, and Haas.
The quartet's two new recordings for the Praga Digitals label (released in 2021 and 2022) include a disc of the last three quartets by Joseph Haydn, which has been praised by The Strad and Diapason, among others, and a disc in collaboration with pianist Francois Dumont commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Cesar Franck, released in June 2022. Next season, which will mark important anniversaries of Czech composers, the quartet plans to record works by Dvořák's pupils Josef Suk and Vitězslav Novák.
Niall Brown, Violoncello
After studying with Maurice Gendron, William Pleeth, Ralph Kirshbaum, Radu Aldulescu, Robert Masters, Alberto Lysy and Nadia Boulanger, Niall has established himself as an internationally renowned cellist, chamber musician and educator over the past four decades.
As cellist of the renowned Australian String Quartet, principal cellist of the Camerata Bern and the Scottish Ensemble, Niall has travelled the world performing in some of the most prestigious concert halls and festivals including Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, Carnegie Hall and Avery Fischer Centre, New York, Théâtre des Champs Elysées and Théâtre du Chatelet, Paris, Konzerthaus and Philharmonie, Berlin, Sydney Recital Hall and Melbourne Concert Hall, Australia, Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Menuhin Festival, Gstaad and Semaine Internationale de Piano, Blonay, Switzerland, Sydney and Adelaide Festival of the Arts, Australia, Festival Lysy, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Haydn Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria and Incontri in Terra di Siena in Italy collaborating with artists such as Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Nikita Magaloff, Janos Starker, Bruno Giuranna, Stephen Kovacevich, Paul Coker, Melvyn Tan, Edith Fischer, Alberto Lysy, Antonio Lysy, Prazac Quartet, Sine Nomine Quartet, Jesus Lopez Cobos, Thomas Füri and Milan Horvat.
Since 1990, Niall has performed with pianist Isabelle Trüb to enthusiastic audiences around the world. Their recordings include the complete works for cello and piano by Fauré and Schumann, the sonatas of Brahms, and the collected works of Hindemith.
In 2009, Niall founded the "Automne Musical d'Ollon" in Switzerland, where Niall's passion for chamber music is expressed in the performance of great new and old masterpieces.
A dedicated educator, Niall has been Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide, Australia, and the International Menuhin Academy of Music in Switzerland, as well as Professor of Chamber Music at the Conservatoire du Nord in Luxembourg, and is regularly invited to give masterclasses in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the United States. In 2015 and again in 2022, he was a Visiting Professor at UCLA in Los Angeles and has taught cello and chamber music courses at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore, the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Australia, the National Chiao-Tung University in Taiwan, and the Utrecht Conservatory of Music in the Netherlands. He also organizes the International Master Academy of Chamber Music, which takes place annually in Germany.
Niall, who lives in Luxembourg, combines his position as deputy chief cellist of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra with his numerous chamber music and teaching commitments.
As cellist of the renowned Australian String Quartet, principal cellist of the Camerata Bern and the Scottish Ensemble, Niall has travelled the world performing in some of the most prestigious concert halls and festivals including Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, Carnegie Hall and Avery Fischer Centre, New York, Théâtre des Champs Elysées and Théâtre du Chatelet, Paris, Konzerthaus and Philharmonie, Berlin, Sydney Recital Hall and Melbourne Concert Hall, Australia, Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Menuhin Festival, Gstaad and Semaine Internationale de Piano, Blonay, Switzerland, Sydney and Adelaide Festival of the Arts, Australia, Festival Lysy, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Haydn Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria and Incontri in Terra di Siena in Italy collaborating with artists such as Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Nikita Magaloff, Janos Starker, Bruno Giuranna, Stephen Kovacevich, Paul Coker, Melvyn Tan, Edith Fischer, Alberto Lysy, Antonio Lysy, Prazac Quartet, Sine Nomine Quartet, Jesus Lopez Cobos, Thomas Füri and Milan Horvat.
Since 1990, Niall has performed with pianist Isabelle Trüb to enthusiastic audiences around the world. Their recordings include the complete works for cello and piano by Fauré and Schumann, the sonatas of Brahms, and the collected works of Hindemith.
In 2009, Niall founded the "Automne Musical d'Ollon" in Switzerland, where Niall's passion for chamber music is expressed in the performance of great new and old masterpieces.
A dedicated educator, Niall has been Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide, Australia, and the International Menuhin Academy of Music in Switzerland, as well as Professor of Chamber Music at the Conservatoire du Nord in Luxembourg, and is regularly invited to give masterclasses in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the United States. In 2015 and again in 2022, he was a Visiting Professor at UCLA in Los Angeles and has taught cello and chamber music courses at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore, the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Australia, the National Chiao-Tung University in Taiwan, and the Utrecht Conservatory of Music in the Netherlands. He also organizes the International Master Academy of Chamber Music, which takes place annually in Germany.
Niall, who lives in Luxembourg, combines his position as deputy chief cellist of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra with his numerous chamber music and teaching commitments.
Isabelle Trüb, piano
Pianist Isabelle Trüb was born into a family of musicians and discovered her passion for chamber music in all its forms at an early age. As a scholarship holder of the Swiss Goehner/Migros Foundations, she completed her musical education at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.
After returning to Switzerland, she was engaged as a pianist/harpsichordist by the International Menuhin Music Academy in Gstaad/Camerata Lysy. She regularly collaborates with numerous renowned artists, including cellists Pierre Fournier and Janos Starker, violist Bruno Giuranna, and violinists Shmuel Ashkenasi and Maxim Vengerov.
The duo, which she founded with her long-time partner, cellist Niall Brown, has an extensive repertoire and has recorded, among others, the complete works of Gabriel Fauré, Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann and Paul Hindemith.
Since teaching also plays a very important role in her career, Isabelle worked for ten years as a piano and chamber music teacher at the Ecole Sociale de Musique in Lausanne, Switzerland. From 1997 to 2006, she lived in Australia, where she worked as a teacher and piano accompanist at the University of Adelaide. She serves as an expert judge for the AMEB examinations and gives numerous chamber music concerts in Australia and Europe. Since 2006, Isabelle has lived in Luxembourg, where she initially worked as a cultural journalist before being hired by the Conservatoire de Musique de la Ville de Luxembourg, where she has taught piano accompaniment and worked as a piano accompanist for several years.
Elisabeth Perry, Violine
The versatile British violinist Elisabeth Perry is widely recognized for her contributions to all facets of the musical profession. She is praised for her virtuosity in the standard repertoire, is an enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music, a dedicated chamber musician, a committed educator, and an internationally acclaimed concertmaster. Ms. Perry has received unanimous praise for her ability to convey urgency while emphasizing the distinctive lyrical and dramatic qualities of a large repertoire.
Ms. Perry showed great musical talent from an early age. She was privileged to be admitted to the first class of Yehudi Menuhin's school in 1963. At the age of 14, Perry appeared on stage with Lord Menuhin in a memorable concert at the Royal Albert Hall and subsequently recorded the Bach Double Concerto with him for Teldec. Perry was a welcome guest soloist with some of Britain's leading orchestras, including the LSO, the Royal Philharmonic, and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Generous scholarships enabled her to continue her studies at the Juilliard School in the famous class of Dorothy Delay and Oscar Shumsky. In the United States, she made a name for herself by winning New York's prestigious Concert Artists Guild Competition and being invited to play Bartók's Second Violin Concerto at Orchestra Hall in Chicago.
Her passion for contemporary music and commitment to expanding the violin repertoire have led to numerous acclaimed premieres. Perry was the first to use Alfred Schnittke's Quasi Una Sonata, performing its US premiere at Lincoln Center.
Critically acclaimed recordings include her premieres of works by Michael Nyman and Andrew Poppy. In 1984, her CD recording of Leon Kirschner's Duo for Violin and Piano was released in the American Heritage Series.
Known for her orchestral leadership, Ms. Perry was concertmaster of the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss from 1985 to 1999. She has been concertmaster of the Rundfunk-Kammerorchester since 1991 and of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra since 2013.
Ms. Perry showed great musical talent from an early age. She was privileged to be admitted to the first class of Yehudi Menuhin's school in 1963. At the age of 14, Perry appeared on stage with Lord Menuhin in a memorable concert at the Royal Albert Hall and subsequently recorded the Bach Double Concerto with him for Teldec. Perry was a welcome guest soloist with some of Britain's leading orchestras, including the LSO, the Royal Philharmonic, and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Generous scholarships enabled her to continue her studies at the Juilliard School in the famous class of Dorothy Delay and Oscar Shumsky. In the United States, she made a name for herself by winning New York's prestigious Concert Artists Guild Competition and being invited to play Bartók's Second Violin Concerto at Orchestra Hall in Chicago.
Her passion for contemporary music and commitment to expanding the violin repertoire have led to numerous acclaimed premieres. Perry was the first to use Alfred Schnittke's Quasi Una Sonata, performing its US premiere at Lincoln Center.
Critically acclaimed recordings include her premieres of works by Michael Nyman and Andrew Poppy. In 1984, her CD recording of Leon Kirschner's Duo for Violin and Piano was released in the American Heritage Series.
Known for her orchestral leadership, Ms. Perry was concertmaster of the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss from 1985 to 1999. She has been concertmaster of the Rundfunk-Kammerorchester since 1991 and of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra since 2013.
Richard Wolfe, Viola
Richard Wolfe was born in New York City, where he studied violaunder the direction of Aaron Shapinsky. After studying with Dorothy DeLayand Walter Levin (first violinist of the LaSalle Quartet), he moved to Israel.As a member of the Israel Chamber Orchestra, he performed as an A-soloist in the "Soldier's Tale by Stravinsky". Here he also had his first professional appearanceas violist in Bach's 3rd Brandenburg Concerto.
In 1982, Richard settled in the Netherlands and in 1984 began a 35-year Term as principal violist of the Netherlands Philharmonic / NetherlandsChamber orchestras. He often performed as a soloist with these orchestras. Among others,Concerts by Henk Badings, Leo Smit,Mozart (Sinfonia Concertante) and Bach (Brandenburg Concerto No. 6). InIn his retirement year 2019, the Tacet label released a CD of the Sinfonia Concertante with violinistGordan Nikolitch and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra.
Richard was a viola teacher at the conservatories of Utrecht andAmsterdam and has been an enthusiastic chamber musician for half a centuryIn the USA he was a member of Sergiu Lucas Music in Context
and in Belgium by Roel Dieltien's Ensemble Explorations.In the Netherlands he is a member of the Rietveld Ensemble and the MonwardWife.
