Vlach Quartet
- Alena Němcová
Extract
Czech string quartet. It was formed on the initiative of the violinist Josef Vlach (b Ratměřice, 8 June 1923; d Linköping, Sweden, 17 Oct 1988), originally with Václav Snítil (b Hradec Králové, 1 March 1928), violin, Soběslav Soukup (b Stod, 23 Aug 1922), viola, and Viktor Moučka (b Kolín, 6 Feb 1926), cello. Having been members of the Czech Chamber Orchestra under Talich, they began working together regularly in 1950 and made their concert début as the Vlach Quartet on 28 April 1951. The viola player was subsequently changed twice, Soukup being replaced in 1952 by Jaroslav Motlík (b Chudeřín, nr Most, 20 April 1926), who was in turn replaced by Josef Koďousek (b Prague, 27 Nov 1923; d Prague, 20 May 1995) from 1954. The quartet won the 1955 Liège International Quartet Competition, and following this success toured throughout the world. The players became members of the drama orchestra at the Prague National Theatre, which they left in ...
