Offstrings: Pavel Haas Quartet a Quartetto di Cremona

On October 5th, as part of our accompanying programme Offstrings, Strings of Autumn presents the first-ever co-production between the festival and the Czech Chamber Music Society, which is embarking on its 126th season and which has functioned since 1977 under the umbrella of the Czech Philharmonic. The collboration has come about thanks to a broadening of the festival dramaturgy and a new concept for the CCMS. Rarely do audiences have a chance to see two world-renowned ensembles share a stage, and more rarely still with a programme in part specially put together for the event.

The evening begins with a work very seldom performed in this country, although one played much more often abroad: Verdi’s E-minor string quartet. Conversely, Janáček’s first string quartet (on the theme of Tolstoy’s Kreutzer Sonata) is one of the works most frequently performed by Czech ensembles. Its was first performed in the composer’s presence by the Czech Quartet, on the 17th of October 1924 in the Mozart Hall in Prague – a concert organised by the Czech Society for Modern Music. On a commission from both the above-mentioned instiutions, the Slovak composer Ľubica Čekovská wrote ‘ascent/descent’ for string octet, which will be receive its world premiere at this concert. One of Mendelssohn’s most importatnt compositions for string chamber ensemble is his octet in E-flat major, with a notably expressive first violin part. The composition was quick to find favour among performers and audiences, and soon became a fixture on concert stages around the world.

But it’s not only the programme that makes this concert exceptional, but also the artists who will perform it. The Pavel Haas Quartett has made a name for itself over the years since it won the Prague Spring competition and the Premio Paolo Borciani in 2005. The quartet records exclusively for Supraphon. Its debut album (Leoš Janáček – String Quartet no. 2, Pavel Haas – String Quartet no. 2, 2006) won the Gramophone Award. And, in 2007, the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) named the quartet one of its ‘Rising Stars,’ opening the door for the quartet to perform at a range of prestigious concert halls around the world.

Critically-acclaimed internationlly, but as yet not so well-known in this country, the Quartetto di Cremona, founded in 2000, has built a reputation as one of the pre-eminent chamber ensembles on the international scene. It has performed at major music festivals in Europe, North and South America, and in the Far East, and received a range of awards, most recently the Franco Buitoni Award for the promotion of chamber music in Italy and around the world. In its 2020/21 season – in addition to its Prague debut the ensemble has concerts planned in Geneva, Istanbul, Milan, Rome, London, and a debut performance at Carnegie Hall in New York.

“Jejich zvuk je… okamžitě rozpoznatelný. Někdy je těžké uvěřit, že posloucháte pouze čtyři hráče, natolik intenzivní je to zvuk”

Gramophone

“Hrají vroucně a stylově. ”

The Guardian