Antonín Dvořák is revered as one of the greatest composers of late 19th-century Romanticism. He is celebrated for the kind of poignant melodies redolent of Czech folk music found in the utterly charming Bagatelles and Rondo – the haunting tunes and harmonic twists of which represent the distinctive style that brought him international fame. Less known is that during the years 1868–70 Dvořák composed in a style so wild for the time that it foreshadowed the modernistic innovations of Schoenberg and his contemporaries. Dvořák’s Second Quartet reveals fascinating examples of early experimentation before his transition into the harmonious Slavic style for which he is so beloved.

With its unusual inclusion of a harmonium, Dvořák’s Bagatelles are less familiar on the concert podium in their original instrumentation, but they contain some of the composer’s most attractive melodies and their immediate appeal is set here against the more challenging Second String Quartet. This is a Dvořák programme both for inquisitive newcomers to his chamber music, and for collectors on the lookout for new recordings by one of the finest string quartets around.

Fine Arts Quartet’s renowned violinists, Ralph Evans (prize winner in the International Tchaikovsky Competition) and Efim Boico (former concertmaster of the Orchestre de Paris under Barenboim) have performed together for 40 years. They are joined by two eminent musicians: violist Gil Sharon (founder of the Amati Ensemble), and cellist Niklas Schmidt (co-founder of Trio Fontenay).

This new recording joins an acclaimed previous release with the music of Dvořák including his Fourth String Quartet: Spirit of Bohemia (8574205) which ClassicsToday.com described having ‘sensitive, well-balanced, and timbrally vibrant playing’.

The Fine Arts Quartet ranks among the most distinguished ensembles in chamber music today, with an illustrious history of performing success and an extensive legacy of over 200 recorded works and is one of the elite few to have recorded and toured internationally for over three-quarters of a century. Many of the Quartet’s recent releases have been selected for inclusion on Grammy Awards entry lists in the categories Best Classical Album and/or Best Chamber Music Performance, and have received multiple awards and distinctions. Recent releases for Naxos include Beethoven - Fugues and Rarities (8574051), Dvořák - Spirit of Bohemia (8574205) and Enescu - Early Chamber Music (8574487).