Antonín Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 4 “Dumky”, Op. 90, B 166
Leoš Janáček: String Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata”, JW VII/8
Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57
Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor “Dumky”, Op. 90, composed between 1890 and 1891, is one of the most original and beloved works of chamber music by Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904). While in his previous trios the composer adhered to the classical sonata form, here he departed from it entirely, creating a unique six-movement cycle based on the “dumka” – a Ukrainian folk form characterized by sudden shifts in mood. The composition fascinates with the contrast between brooding, melancholic passages and unrestrained, rhythmically vibrant joy. It is this emotional volatility and deep-rooted folk inspiration that give the “Dumky” trio its immense inner power, showcasing Dvořák’s masterful fusion of melodic invention with an unconventional musical architecture.
Leoš Janáček’s (1854–1928) String Quartet No. 1 “after Leo Tolstoy’s Kreutzer Sonata” dates from 1923, but its origins reach back to 1908, when Janáček composed a now lost piano trio inspired by the same Tolstoy novella. Its heroine is a woman tormented by her despotic and pathologically jealous husband, who ultimately kills her. “I had in mind a poor woman, tormented, beaten, killed,” Janáček said of the theme that runs like a red thread through many of his works. The quartet’s passionate expression penetrates to the very core of human emotion and the deepest recesses of the soul. It met with immediate success after its 1924 premiere and, even a century later, remains one of the most powerful works of the string quartet repertoire.
In the late 1930s, the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) was under increasing pressure from the Soviet totalitarian regime and constantly watched by Stalin’s secret police. After his manic-depressive Sixth Symphony, which reflected the fearful and oppressive atmosphere of the time, the composer sought to purify his mind and musical language by returning to the roots of Bachian counterpoint. His Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57 contains numerous references to Bach’s model – the first two movements form a prelude and fugue, while the fourth is written in the style of a neo-baroque aria. The work’s successful premiere in Moscow in 1940, performed by the Beethoven Quartet with the composer at the piano, secured its place on concert stages around the world.
Text: Ondřej Pivoda
PAVEL HAAS QUARTET
The “life-enhancing” Pavel Haas Quartet (Arts Desk) is revered across the globe for its richness of timbre, infectious passion and intuitive rapport. Playing “as if their lives depend on it” (The Times), the quartet perform at the world’s most prestigious concert halls and has received numerous high-profile awards for its recordings, firmly establishing them as one of the world’s foremost string quartets.
Highlights of the 25/26 season include returns to the Musikverein, Vienna; Philharmonie de Paris; Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin; Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg; Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam; Konserthuset Stockholm and Wigmore Hall. Further afield, the Quartet returns to Taiwan’s National Concert Hall and the Seoul Arts Center, and tour North America in March 2026.
Renowned as the leading interpreter of Eastern European chamber music masterpieces, the Quartet was named as Ambassador for the Year of Czech Music in 2024. From 2025 until 2027, the Pavel Haas Quartet is Artist-in-Residence at Smetana’s Litomyšl Festival, alongside the Czech Philharmonic.
The Quartet regularly appears at major venues including Wigmore Hall, London; Philharmonie, Berlin; Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Vienna; Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg; Tonhalle Zürich; Philharmonie de Paris; Accademia di Santa Cecilia; BOZAR, Brussels; NCPA Beijing; LG Arts Centre and Seoul Arts Center, Seoul and Carnegie Hall, New York. In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Quartet appeared on the cover of The Strad and was the featured interview in BBC Music Magazine. The latter named it among the “10 greatest string quartet ensembles of all time,” describing the Quartet as “stylistically powerful and richly sonorous, [and] known for its passionate and fearless performances.”
The Pavel Haas Quartet records exclusively for Supraphon. In September 2025, the Quartet releases its next album of Martinu String Quartets Nos. 2, 3, 5 and 7. The Quartet has received five Gramophone Awards for its recordings of Dvořák, Smetana, Schubert, Janáček, and Haas. For its recording of Dvořák’s String Quartets No. 12 “American” and No. 13, it was awarded the coveted Gramophone Recording of the Year in 2011. The Sunday Times commented: “their account of the ‘American’ Quartet belongs alongside the greatest performances on disc.”
Since winning the Paolo Borciani competition in Italy in 2005, further highlights early in their career have included being nominated as ECHO Rising Stars in 2007, participating in the BBC New Generation Artists scheme between 2007–2009 and being award the Special Ensemble Scholarship by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in 2010. The Quartet is based in Prague and studied with the late Milan Škampa, the legendary violist of the Smetana Quartet. They take their name from the Czech-Jewish composer Pavel Haas (1899–1944) who was imprisoned at Theresienstadt in 1941 and was tragically killed at Auschwitz three years later. His legacy includes three wonderful string quartets.
Veronika Jarůšková – 1st violin, Marek Zwiebel – 2nd violin, Šimon Truszka – viola, Peter Jarůšek – cello
