Quatuor Vlach - Les Introuvables de Classica vol.35 - Le Quatuor Vlach joue Dvořák et Janáček (2023)

The career of the Vlach Quartet is inseparably linked to the political history of Czechoslovakia. It is even possible to say that its foundation, in 1949, previously found its roots in the occupation of the country by the Germans! During this dark period, the legendary Vàclav Talich was the dominant figure in national musical life, at the head of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra but also of the National Theater in Prague. In 1945, denounced by the radical left, he was arrested and dismissed from all his functions. Accused of attacking the nation because of his membership in two collaborationist organizations, a trip to Germany, a speech of loyalty to the Reich and a meeting in Prague with Joseph Goebbels, Talich, a true patriot who resisted under Nazi pressure as best he could, managed to be acquitted.

AN EXCEPTIONAL PERSONALITY
Although he resumed concerts in September 1946, he no longer had an ensemble at his disposal. This is where Josef Vlach enters the picture. To help the conductor, the violinist founded a chamber orchestra and entrusted him with its direction. The communists coming to power in 1948 demanded the withdrawal of Talich, which Vlach opposed. This refusal then led to the dissolution of the ensemble and reoriented the violinist towards the string quartet, practiced during his studies. The formation to which Josef Vlach gives his name brings together colleagues from the chamber orchestra: Václav Snítil as second violin, Sobeslav Soukup on viola and Viktor Moucka on cello. Compulsory military service threatened the group for a time, which gave its first public concert in 1951. Soukup was replaced by Josef Kodousek in 1954. The following year the group won the grand prize at the Liège International Competition. The eighty thousand francs of their prize are immediately given on stage to the official Czech representative. Their Minister of Culture will nevertheless offer each of the musicians a briefcase! And the resulting international career remains subject to state approval for each of its stages.
However, the list of countries visited is important, even including non-aligned countries (India, Iran, United States, etc.). A privileged relationship was established with the United Kingdom, which maintained significant cultural exchanges with the Eastern bloc. In 1957, the Vlach found a permanent base by becoming the ensemble in residence at Czech Radio for ten years. This will allow an opening to contemporary creations and to composers little played in other countries of the communist bloc such as Berg, Webern or Debussy . The programs given abroad, on the other hand, show flawless orthodoxy, associating the great Austro-Germanic classics with national music. 1970 saw the replacement of Kod'ousek by Jiri Hanzl, but it was the development of Josef Vlach's personal career as conductor and soloist which led inexorably to the end of the group's activities in 1975. Václav Snítil, who had also founded the Trio Smetana, would later like to remember the early years of the Vlachs: “We rehearsed in an apartment, we met there every day without thinking at all about money. We played five days a week - and we had no goal in front of us, no concert, just joy and the idea that one day something would come. The naivety, the idealism were beautiful! » Thomas Deschamps