The M. Nostitz Quartet was founded in October 1994 by students of the Academy of Music in Prague. The currentmembers of the quartet have performed together since 1999, with Petr Bernášek as first violin, Václav Vacek, second violin, Pavel Hořejši, viola, and Petr Šporcl, cello. From the beginning the ensemble has been under the musical guidance of the cellist Vaclav Bernášek, a member of the Kocian Quartet. The M. Nostitz Quartet has been appearing under its name since 1996 with the kind permission of Countess Mathilda Nostitz, whose family has been one of the greatest patrons of the arts since the eighteenth century. After graduating from the Academy of Music, the members participated for three years in master-classes given by the Amadeus and Bartók Quartets and passed a two-year course at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna. In 1997 they took part in a competition in Heerlen, Holland, and obtained first prize. One year later they were awarded second prize at the Prague Spring Competition and in 1998 won a competition in Cremona. These achievements naturally offered opportunities for performing in many European concert halls, and enabled them to participate for the first time in the Days of Czech Culture in Kyoto in 1997. Successful concerts created an opportunity for an initial tour of Japan in 2000. A concert for the Society of Antonín Dvořák in New York in 2001 was a remarkable début in the United States. The M. Nostitz Quartet has established itself especially in Germany, where they perform much more frequently than in their home country, the Czech Republic. Repeated tours of Europe and concerts in China and Oman have further established the position of the ensemble.

After completing his initial studies in Prague, in 1990 Petr Bernášek received a one year scholarship at the Yehudi Menuhin International Academy in Switzerland, where he studied with Alberto Lysy. In 1995 he spent three months at the Paris Conservatoire; he won the third prize at the Beethoven Competition in Hradec nad Moravicí and was a finalist at the International Sonata Competition Vierzon 1995.

After completing his studies in Prague, Václav Vacek became a member of the Fenix quartet and since the year 1998 he has been performing with the Prague Chamber Orchestra.

Pavel Hořejši, after his studies in Prague, participated in the Beethoven Competition in Hradec nad Moravici and the Competition of Conservatories where he won the second prize. He performs as a soloist and a chamber musician.

During his studies in Prague the cellist Petr Šporcl received first prize at the Beethoven Competition in Hradec nad Moravici and first prize at the Competition of Conservatories. During two years’ study at Southern Methodist University in Dallas he won the first prize at the Meadows School of the Arts’ Concerto competition and the third prize at the
Corpus Christi International Competition. He was also a finalist at the Imahuc Int. Competition in North Carolina.