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Jerusalem Quartet plays Prokofiev, Bartók and Shostakovich

Jerusalem Quartet (photo: Felix Bröde)

The ideal of the Jerusalem Quartet is to sound like a single instrument: homogeneous in sound, rhythmically precise and full of expressive power. The two works presented by the ensemble in this concert were influenced by the Second World War: Béla Bartók’s melancholic String Quartet from 1939 and Sergei Prokofiev’s Second Quartet from 1941. Written in the North Caucasus, the composer evocatively integrates folk music from the area. There are also flashes of folklore in Dmitri Shostakovich's powerful Tenth String Quartet, composed in Armenia in 1964.

Jerusalem Quartet

Alexander Pavlovsky violin

Sergei Bresler violin

Ori Kam viola

Kyril Zlotnikov cello

Sergei Prokofiev

String Quartet No. 2 in F major, op. 92 "On Kabardinian Themes"

Dmitri Shostakovich

String Quartet No. 10 in A flat major, op. 118

Béla Bartók

String Quartet No. 6, Sz 114

Dates and Tickets

Biographies

Jerusalem Quartet

“Passion” and “precision”. Those, according to the New York Times, are special trademarks of the Jerusalem Quartet. To which one could add perfect tonal balance, which places each individual part in the proper light, and a glowingly transparent overall sonority, as well as warmth that, in judiciously chosen moments, can flare up into astringency. The Israeli ensemble, founded in 1996, enjoys particular esteem in North America. But the Jerusalem Quartet has a considerable following in Europe as well – including enthusiastic audiences at the Salzburg Festival, the Verbier Festival and venues such as London’s Wigmore Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Chamber Music Hall of the Berlin Philharmonie, where the ensemble made its debut in 2015. Whether in classical, classic modern or new music, the Jerusalem Quartet’s readings always reveal each detail, which is why the four musicians’ recording have been showered with prizes, among them the Diapason d’Or and the BBC Music Magazine Award. The Jerusalem Quartet’s most recent release, in 2020, completes its cycle of the Bartók string quartets: a recording which – needless to say – has earned the ensemble further critical acclaim.