Czech string quartet, led by Jiří Novák. It was formed in 1945 and first travelled abroad in 1950, making its London and New York débuts in 1955 and 1957. Its repertory was based on the classics and Slavonic works, and it performed from memory with a unity of ensemble deriving from great attention to dynamic and expressive detail.

The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.