Moyzes Quartet

Concert on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Moyzes Quartet

In Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's compositions with a Koechl number above 480, darker inspirations in minor keys began to multiply. The brilliant composer, who until then had spread almost exclusively positive moods, began to partially change his style and headed towards a magical climax – the Requiem. One of the harbingers of change is the expressive String Quintet in G minor with two violas – a chamber counterpart to the famous Symphony in G minor. The use of two violas multiplies the darker character of this impressive work. Alexander Moyzes was a versatile composer. However, he clearly preferred robust symphonic works (12 symphonies) in his oeuvre. He was, as it were, the Slovak counterpart of Dmitri Shostakovich. Moyzes balanced the compositional and civic pathos of his symphonies with masculine contemplation in songs and chamber works, in which he presented his relationship to folk songs and demonstrated psychological detail and skillful work within the rich microstructure of his compositions. Antonín Dvořák already reached for the lofty goals of extensive chamber and symphonic compositions in his youth. One such early work is the Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 5. Although Dvořák left it with its opus number, he did not accept it with the passage of time. Therefore, during a period when he was revising older compositions, he wrote a “revision” of the quintet in the same key. Alongside similar compositions by Schumann, Brahms, and Shostakovich, it is one of the pinnacles of chamber music. Especially in the second and third movements (Dumka and Furiant), Dvořák recalled the triumphs he achieved with his Slavonic Dances. With a concert by the Moyzes Quartet, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of its founding at the BHS.