Signum Quartett places Janáček’s two great string quartets — the Kreutzer Sonata and Intimate Letters — alongside the rarely heard Op. 8 quartet of Vítězslava Kaprálová, a young composer from Janáček’s own Brno circle. Threaded between the major works are miniatures drawn from Janáček’s private Album for Kamila Stösslová and his folk-song arrangements, standing in for the muse whose own voice — and letters — never survived. The result is a recording that reframes Janáček’s obsessive, confessional late style against Kaprálová’s distinct and equally compelling emotional world, with Tolstoy’s own brief Waltz woven in as a quiet aside.

Signum Quartett