“The Pražák Quartet – one of today ́s leading international chamber music ensembles – was established in 1972 while its members were students at the Prague Conservatory. Since then, the quartet has gained attention for its place in the unique Czech quartet tradition and its musical virtuosity.
The 1974 Czech Music Year saw the Pražák Quartet receive the first prize at the Prague Conservatory Chamber Music Competition. Within twelve months their international career had been launched with a performance at the 1975 Prague Spring Music Festival. In 1978 the quartet took the first prize at the Evian String Quartet Competition as well as a special prize awarded by Radio France for the best recording during the competition. Further prizes were awarded at various other Czech competitions.
For more than 30 years, the Pražák Quartet has been at home on music stages worldwide. Its members are regular guests in the major European musical capitals – Prague, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan, Madrid, London, Berlin, Munich, etc. – and have been invited to participate at numerous international festivals, where they have collaborated with such artists as Menahem Pressler, Jon Nakamatsu, Cynthia Phelps, Roberto Diaz, Josef Suk, and Sharon Kam.
The quartet toured the United States in the autumn of 2012, with concerts in Miami, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Mill Valley, San Jose, and Tucson. On previous visits to North America, they have performed in New York (Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, 92nd St. Y), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Washington, Philadelphia, Miami, St Louis, New Orleans, Berkeley, Cleveland, Tucson, Denver, Buffalo, Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.
The Pražák Quartet records exclusively for Praga/ Harmonia Mundi which, to date, has released over thirty award-winning CDs. In addition to numerous radio recordings in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic, the quartet has also made recordings for Supraphon, Panton, Orfeo, Ottavo, Bonton, and Nuova Era.
In 2010 Pavel Hůla succeeded the founding first violinist Václav Remeš, who was unable to continue performing owing to a medical condition in his left hand. Pavel Hůla was the long-time first violinist with the Czech-based Kocian Quartet, and has been a close friend of the Pražák Quartet for many years.”
