The Janáček Quartet was founded

in 1947 by students of the Brno Conservatory.

Thanks to their excellent interpretation of Leoš Janáček's works,

the ensemble gained the right to use the name of this important composer.

In 1955, the Janáček Quartet, with the now legendary line-up of Jiří Trávníček,

Adolf Sýkora, Jiří Kratochvíl and Karel Krafka, embarked on its first foreign tour,

and within a few years the ensemble's artistic activities reached all continents.

Eight decades of performing on concert stages have naturally forced gradual changes in the ensemble's line-up. However, the interpretive canon and expressiveness still remain the essence of the Janáček Quartet's playing.

The current members of the quartet are:

MILOŠ VACEK . FIRST VIOLIN

RICHARD KRUŽÍK . SECOND VIOLIN

JAN ŘEZNÍČEK . VIOLA

LUKÁŠ POLÁK . VIOLONCELLO

The Janáček Quartet has performed at prominent international festivals (Bonn - Musikfestival, Edinburgh - Festival, Prague Spring, Schleswig-Holstein - Festival, Festival - Krakow, Festival - Alicante - Actual, etc. ), concert halls (London - Wigmore Hall, Edinburgh - Quins Hall, Tokyo -Bunkakaikan, Osaka - Phoenix Hall, Seoul - IBK Hall, etc.) and recorded for famous record companies (Deutsche Grammophon, Supraphon, Decca, Westminster, Pony Canyon, Naxos, etc.).

The quartet also established cooperation with I. J. Pleyel in Ruppersthall, Austria, and regularly performs and records the musical legacy of this lesser-known contemporary of W. A. Mozart. Throughout its existence, the ensemble has collaborated with such distinguished performers as Igor Ardašev, Eva Bernáthová, Boris Berezovský, Maria Kliegel, Bohuslav Matoušek, Josef Špaček, Alfred Strejček, Ivo Kahánek, Ang Li, Raphael Wallfisch, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Ludmila Peterková, Michaela Fukačová, etc.