Quartet records Dvorak

The Pro Arte String Quartet has released its debut recording, containing two of Antonin Dvorak’s string quartets.

Of all the major 19th-century composers who came after Beethoven, none dedicated himself more seriously to the genre of the string quartet than Dvorak. The new recording includes Dvorak’s String Quartet No. 9 in D minor (Op. 34) and the String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat major (Op. 51), composed between 1877-79, a pivotal point in his career.

The Pro Arte, founded in 1912 in Brussels, and in residence at the UW–Madison since 1938, is one of the most enduring string quartets in existence. While numerous recordings were issued by previous Pro Arte groupings, this new album of Dvorak quartets marks the debut CD release of the current configuration of violinists David Perry and Suzanne Beia, violist Sally Chisholm, and cellist Parry Karp, who have been together since 1995.

“We sometimes forget that we are privileged to be home to a world-class string quartet, equal in stature to any of the major touring groups,” says School of Music director John Schaffer. “Their debut concert as the ‘new’ Pro Arte in ’95 was a complete knockout, and they just keep getting better and better all the time. We’re thrilled that their first recording is now available lot of people have been waiting a long time for this.”

The recorded performance is packaged with evocative imagery prepared locally by Firepower Design Group in collaboration with photographer Katrin Talbot. Program notes by university musicologist David Crook place the works in their socio-cultural context, and offer explanatory notes to each of the movements.

The recording costs $15, with proceeds used to support School of Music scholarships. To order, send a check for $17.50 (including shipping) payable to “UW School of Music” to: School of Music CDs, 455 N. Park St., Madison WI 53706-1483.

The recording also will be available at most local book and record stores, and some specialty shops, and can be ordered by credit card through the UW Press distribution center, (800) 621-2736 or (773) 568-1550, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.