Smetana Quartet

Czech String Quartet

The Smetana Quartet was a renowned Czech string quartet that was founded in 1945 under the name Czech Quartet and later renamed in honor of the famous Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. The quartet originally consisted of members Jiří Novák (violin), Lubomír Kostecký (violin), Radomír Žalud (viola), and Antonín Kohout (cello), with several changes in membership over the years, particularly in the viola position. The ensemble quickly gained a reputation for their interpretations of Czech composers, such as Smetana, Dvořák, and Janáček, as well as for their performances of the broader string quartet repertoire.