Eben: Smyčcový kvartet, Klavírní trio - CD

This new recording, including the world premiere of Petr Eben’s Piano Quintet, presents his String Quartet Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart, Piano Trio and Piano Quintet. Petr Eben (1929–2007) is one of the most significant Czech composers of the second half of the 20th century. Although he is chiefly associated with organ and sacred music, his chamber works also reflect his fascinating life story. At the age of 15, he experienced the fine boundary between life and death in Buchenwald concentration camp, an experience that profoundly strengthened his faith, his relationship with the world and his music. This programme is most evident in the String Quartet, written in 1981 at the request of the Smetana Quartet and inspired by the major work Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart by the 17th-century philosopher, educator and theologian J. A. Comenius. Eben’s Piano Quintet from 1992 and Piano Trio from 1986 reveal his skill as an outstanding pianist. Rather than seeking a blend of colours, he deliberately sets the piano and strings against one another in contrast. The Martinů Quartet and pianist Karel Košárek provide the premiere recording of the quintet and the first modern-era recording of the quartet since the legendary Smetana Quartet. This recording offers a journey through the labyrinth of the world towards the paradise of the heart and the discovery of Petr Eben’s chamber music.