String Quartets (vinyl LP)

Violin was Milan Knížák's first instrument. He has composed hundred of works of this ilk. The first one DHK, 45 years ago. Next to his destroyed works, Milan took notations of different composers, cut them and put them together (with his own score) into a collage, expressing his feelings and his apprehension of music.
These compositions are performed by fama Q which is a string quartet founded in 2005 in Prague. Its members, being also orchestral musicians with the Prague Philharmonia, were always devoted to chamber and string quartet music making. Fama Q presents regularly the works of contemporary composers, be it the traditional approaches of 20th century or the avant-garde classics as well as prominent international and Czech composers of these days.
“I am aware that the majority of my compositions are technically challenging, since I employ uncommon intervals, so as to make the musicians think in a different, novel way and to produce different colours in the "classical" passages too. If the instruments were arrayed "beneath one another", simple melodies may come across as boring. In the case of interval skips, whereby I count with a certain fuzziness, even falseness of tones, music is far more colourful. I don't care who would perform my pieces, as long as they are solid musicians. I think I have written them in such a manner that they should not forfeit energy even when someone is not familiar with the modern playing principles, only their effect would somewhat shift. And I really don't mind any shift. One of my friends said that this music of mine is not similar to anything. I would like to add that it is similar to everything. Perhaps both are true.”—Milan Knížák, April 2018