Reicha Quartet
Members of the Reicha Quartet have a common desire. They try to understand the longings and efforts of artists and audiences in the late 18th and early 19th century. They attempt to penetrate the feelings and thoughts which lead to creating unique works full of strong emotions and self-reflection. They share a fascination over how easy it is these days to look into the past - thanks to the relatively easy accessibility of primary sources and early prints. By reading the critical reviews and views on music production and composition, aesthetic essays and commentaries to cultural events, they gain insight into the aesthetics of 18th and 19th century. When we read the parts of Mendelssohn quartets marked by Ferdinand David - the violinist who performed with Mendelssohn himself, we feel like looking over his shoulder just at the very moment when he played the first violin part. When we read The Notebooks of Antonín Reicha, we feel the writing to be addressed to us as well as to his contemporaries. We feel it is our duty to use our empathy and knowledge to convey this experience to audience and thus share the results of our work.

Having met during their studies at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, the members of the Reicha Quartet decided to establish a performance-orientated chamber group that would allow them to explore the late classical and early romantic repertoire whilst maintaining a strong emphasis on research and of the periods’ performance practices. Since then the ensemble has enjoyed performances mainly within the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, offering to its audiences a mixture of entertainment and historically informed journeys into the 18th and 19th century.