Martinů: String Quartets Nos 2, 3, 5, 7

“I was immediately struck by their seemingly telepathic ability to be completely fluid in their tempos… there's a richness and depth to their tone that often tricks the ear into thinking there must be an entire string section at play. The highlight is arguably their performance of Quartet No. 3, with the last movement containing some of the most jaw-droppingly virtuosic string playing I have heard for some time… In short, another stunning album from the Pavel Haas Quartet.”
Presto Music, September 2025

“In the hands of the PHQ, the Fifth Quartet easily stands comparison with Shostakovich at his best, and deserves a place alongside the works of Janáček and Haas in the list of great Czech 20th-century quartets… Like everything on this generously-filled disc, the Seventh Quartet is splendidly characterised by the Pavel Haas players, and once again they have delivered performances that could quite easily become regarded as definitive. This is an album that should give Martinů’s repu­tation as a quartet composer an enormous boost, and we recommend it with the heartiest enthusiasm.”
Europadisc, September 2025

“Das Pavel Haas Quartet formt diese vier Werke jeweils in der jedem eigenen Ausdrucksweise, so dass die Unterschiedlichkeit der Quartette bestens herausgeschält wird. Dabei vergessen sie nicht, immer auch die modernen Aspekte der Musik zu zeigen, ohne auch die lokalen Bezüge im Charakter durchschimmern zu lassen. Doch hier bleiben sie im Rahmen der von Martinu gewünschten Objektivität. Das superb aufeinander abgestimmte Spiel, bei dem der klangliche Gesamteindruck des Ensembles im Vordergrund steht, ohne deswegen eine unstrukturierte Mischwirkung zu erzeugen, führt sie zu stark profilierten Interpretationen.”
Pizzicato, September 2025

“The fifth quartet of Martinu, contemporaneous with their affair, is sombre, ominous, full of short bowings and plucked strings. Its finale has an end-of-the-world air about it. Compared to the 2nd, 3rd and 7th quartets on this album, it is achingly introspective and completely void of the Czech tunes that Martinu called on for moral support. This uncommonly dark Martinu mood is brought out with gripping veracity by the flawless, top-flight Pavel Haas Quartet.”
Myscena, September 2025

“No. 5 makes an assertive opening. Jarůšková’s first violin lines have the focus and presence that demand attention, yet the performance’s ap­peal lies in the collective dialogue: the inner parts are alive, with notable viola and cello responses that keep the musical argument balanced. In the Lento the quartet relaxes into true quiet playing – hushed, steady, and without self-conscious shaping. Among available recordings of the Fifth, this reading now sits at the top of the pile for its combination of precision, drive, and recording quality… For listeners who have yet to be convinced by these works, this is highly recommended.”
The Classic Review, October 2025

“Seriously: listen to one of the big-name string quartets of the CD era – the Alban Berg Quartet, say, or the Emersons – and ask yourself, hand on heart, whether the Pavel Haas Quartet doesn’t play the socks off them. The vitality, the intelligence; the headlong, needle-point virtuosity: all this is a wholly 21st-century phenomenon and there’s no finer proof than this new release.”
The Spectator, October 2025

“The Pavel Haas bring more than commercial visibility and brighter recorded sound to the table. Their playing is tauter, usually to the music's advantage and with quite incendiary results in the Fifth, the masterpiece with which their selection begins… the Pavel Haas Quartet have come up with yet another unmissable release.”
Gramophone, Awards issue 2025