Pavel Haas Quartet, one of the very top ensembles on the worldwide chamber music scene, has been devoting itself to works for string quartet by Bohuslav Martinů for a number of years and has given complete presentations of them, including a series of concerts at London’s Wigmore Hall.

Martinů’s deep affinity for the quartet genre is evident throughout his oeuvre: “I can’t tell you what pleasure I feel when working with those four voices... I somehow feel at home with the quartet, intimate, happy... Being independent, free, they do as they wish, and despite that, they create harmonious interplay, forming something, a new entity and a harmonic whole”. For this recording, they have chosen the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th quartets – four widely different worlds that together create an exciting musical arch spanning more than two decades of the 20th century. The Second String Quartet was Martinů’s breakthrough, earning himinternational attention, then in the Third the composer gave himself plenty of room for experimentation. The Fifth (Paris, 1938) is full of emotions and inner tension, while in the post-war Seventh (New York 1947), Martinů seems to have returned to Dvořákian romantic lyricism and melodiousness. In interpretations by the Pavel Haas Quartet, these works are heard with an new, unexpected intensity.

Renowned for their rich, colourful sound, fascinating interplay, and feel for details, the Pavel Haas Quartet is able not only to understand Martinů’s language, but also to communicate it convincingly and draw listeners into the inner world of one of the greatest Czech composers of the 20th century.