Pavel Haas Quartet

Overview

The Pavel Haas Quartet, based in Prague, takes its name from the Czech composer whose legacy includes wonderful string quartets, one of which will be performed at this concert, as well as works of Schubert and Beethoven.  After winning the Paolo Borciani Competition in Italy in 2005, this young and exciting quartet was launched on the international stage and has since performed at the world's most prestigious concert halls.

The Pavel Haas String Quartet has been making a name for itself.

TICKETS:  $39, $36, STUDENTS WITH ID $20  Student Rush at door: $15    Please Note:  cash or check only at door at Tuckerman Hall.

Related Sites

• Pavel Haas, A Study for Strings (video of photos of the composer, Theresienstadt and Auschwitz set to his composition)

Program

PROGRAM

Schubert     Quartet in c minor, D. 703 "Quartettsatz"

Beethoven      Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1

Pavel Haas     Quartet No. 2 

  Below is excerpted from the Worcester Telegram article by Richard Duckett:

The four Prague, Czech Republic-based musicians will be coming to Tuckerman Hall on Wednesday as part of a three-week U.S. tour that is winning them even more accolades. The concert is presented by Music Worcester Inc.

 But first of all, what’s in the name?

 Pavel Haas (1899-1944) was a Jewish Czech composer who published little (he apparently was very self-critical) but did see some acclaim before World War II while he was still working for his father, who was a shoemaker.  In 1941, Haas was deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, where he continued to compose. A cynical Nazi propaganda film shows Haas taking a bow after a performance of one of his works. He was transferred to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1944 and murdered in the gas chambers.

 “He’s not very well known, even in the Czech Republic,” said Peter Jarusek, cellist for the Pavel Haas String Quartet.   However, that has been changing — thanks in large part to the quartet. On Wednesday, they will perform Haas’ Quartet No. 2. Also on the program are works by Schubert and Beethoven.   “It’s a very special atmosphere,” Jarusek said of the work that will likely be heard for the first time by many in Tuckerman Hall. “I would just say, come to our concert and listen. We are very proud to be named after him.”

 The quartet consists of Jarusek, Veronika Jaruskova (lead violin), Eva Karova (second violin), and Pavel Niki (viola). The group first formed in 2002 with original members Jaruskova and Niki. Jarusek joined in 2004, and Karova came on board last season.   “It is difficult to find the (right) musicians at the beginning,” Jarusek said of the initial turnover. “Quartet is the most beautiful and most difficult music for strings … I think we are happy now and we are very comfortable and honest with each other and will play together for a long time, hopefully.”   Actually, the current four have known each other for some time since they were all students at the Academy for Performing Arts in Prague. Professor Milan Skampa of the academy has been credited with working with the quartet and helping them take shape. Furthermore, Jaruskova and Jarusek have known each other since they were 15. Plus — they are married. “We are normal. We like different things. We like sport. We like our families,” Jarusek said.   None of the four had really planned on a career in a quartet, but fate — and ability and musical empathy — has dictated differently. “We play only quartet. We don’t teach. We don’t play orchestra. We spend a whole season playing together,” he said.

 The quartet’s name was coincidence, Jarusek said. They were visiting a friend one time who played them a recording of a work by Haas. The friend said, “Just listen to this,” Jarusek recalled.   So they did. Not long after, they called Haas’ daughter and asked to be named after him, “because it’s a pity the audience doesn’t know these fabulous pieces,” Jarusek said.  

Haas’ Quartet No. 2 was written in 1925 and comes from quite a happy period in his life, Jarusek said. The piece evokes a summer holiday and is in four movements, each subtitled. The first, “Landscape,” creates “a very beautiful atmosphere,” Jarusek said. “Coach, Coachman and Horse,” the second, is a lively and amusing rendition of a creaky coach ride. In contrast, the third movement, “The Moon and I,” has a melancholy about it, but the final movement, “Wild Night,” is, as its title might suggest, celebratory.   “It is when the young people party. It is jazzy. Very rich. Haas also combines folk music motifs, Jewish motifs, gypsy motifs. A mixture,” Jarusek said.

The music of Haas is just part of the quartet’s repertoire, which has a mix of the classics (Beethoven’s Quartet in F major, Op. 59, No. 1 and Schubert’s Quartet in C minor “Quartettsatz” will be performed Wednesday) and the more modern (Janacek, for example, who was a tutor of Haas).

One common denominator is that more or less from the time the quartet started performing, they were winning competitions. In winning the Prague Spring Competition in 2005, they played quartets by Mozart and Janacek. At the Paaolo Borciani Competition in Italy later that year, they also won first prize.   Invitations to perform soon followed. “We spend a lot of time traveling,” Jarusek said. At a time when many quartets, chamber groups and orchestras are struggling, Jarusek does not have many complaints.   “We are maybe a new ensemble for the audience,” he said modestly about one possible reason for the group’s appeal. “Generally, of course, classical music in this time is not on the top of the interest of the people … But we are very happy — we’ve got quite a lot of good concerts on the road. We are very happy to play together and be together.”

About the Artists

In Spring 2005 the Pavel Haas Quartet won the Paolo Borciani competition in Italy, and were launched onto the international stage. Since then the Quartet has performed at the world's most prestigious concert halls, receiving great acclaim from audiences and critics like. In 2007 the Quartet were awarded a Gramophone Award for their debut CD of works by Janacek and Haas and were named Newcomer of the Year in the 2007 BBC Music agazine Awards.  In the 2008/9 season the Quartet will embark on major tours of Australia, USA and Japan as well as return tours of the UK and Germany. In the UK the  Quartet returns for concerts at the Wigmore Hall, the City of London Festival and the Cheltenham Festival. In Europe they will appear at Le Louvre in Paris, the Salzburg Mozarteum and Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels. Other future highlights include their debuts at the Lucerne Festival and Berlin Konzerthaus as well as two returns to the Concertgebouw. The Quartet are BBC New Generation Artists. This scheme selects twelve expectionally talented young artists and groups to perform BBC studio recordings and high profile UK engagements.  The 2007/8 season saw the Quartet give an extensive European tour, following the Cologne Philharmonie's nomination of them as ECHO Rising Stars. Tour dates included Vienna Konzerthaus, Salzburg Mozarteum, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Cologne Philharmonie, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, and Stockholm Konserthuset. Other European highlights included performances at the Wigmore Hall and the Berlin Phliharmonie. The Quartet toured the USA which culminated with their debut performance at the Carnegie Hall, New York. They finished the season by making their debut at the Edinburgh International Festival.
The Quartet takes its name from the Czech composer Pavel Haas (1899-1944) who was imprisoned at Theresienstadt in 1941 and tragically died at Auschwitz three years later. His legacy includes three wonderful string quartets. As well as Haas, the Quartet is passionately committed to the Czech repertoire while their performances of Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Beethoven and Mozart have also received extraordinary acclaim.