When interpreting history we often resort to constructing linear causalities, where one thing follows another – the pupil further develops the abilities and language of his teacher, and then his pupils continue this process. Usually, however, the reality is not quite so straightforward, particularly when Leoš Janáček is involved. Janáček’s language is very complex and in many ways has been taken as far as it can be, so if we want to develop this language rather than just imitating it, we have to refer more to ideas than to technique and composition. We could certainly create a succession of four generations of composers, Janáček’s followers, but we would prefer to be objective and focus on four original figures who are not mere epigones of their teacher, even though something of Janáček can frequently be heard in their work.

The Miloslav Ištvan Quartett is a string quartet made up of young performers who focus mainly on interpreting contemporary classical music. The ensemble was founded in 2008 and got its name in connection with a concert of compositions by Miloslav Ištvan. The ensemble has already given many interesting concerts, including premieres at the Studio of Contemporary Music in Brno and performances at international festivals such as the Exposition of New Music, New Music Encounters Plus, Janáček Brno and Forfest. In the 2009–2010 season the ensemble released their debut CD with recordings of all of Miloslav Ištvan’s string quartets, and they followed this up in 2012 with a CD of the complete string quartets by the exiled composer Jan Novák, and in 2013 with the release of a compilation of compositions by the artists from the group “A”.