PAVEL HAAS QUARTET WITH BORIS GILTBURG- CAMBRIDGE MUSIC FESTIVAL
The Pavel Haas Quartet
Boris Giltburg world famous pianist
On this Holocaust Memorial Day the Pavel Haas Quartet , young as they are, make a moving reminder of the suffering of the Jews - and others - under Nazi control . Pavel Haas died in the gas chambers of middle Europe. He was brought to Auschwitz in 1944 , Karel Ančerl his musical colleague stood next to him on arrival. Only a cough from Pavel caught the attention of the guard and he disappeared to certain and sudden death. Karel Ančerl survived. The German occupation was succeeded in Prague by the brutal Soviet règime , the Czech people and their musicians have endured two forms of oppression. That the most prominent string quartet in the world be represented by the name of a fellow Czech is a moving, on-going tribute to his bravery and that of all musicians who died under despotic rule ..
The Pavel Haas Quartet have become a phenomenal success. For an ensemble who have played lately at the Philharmonie Berlin, Tonhalle Zurich and twice at the Carnegie Hall - just three of the International venues they have dazzled with their brilliant performances, the Cambridge Music Festival has achieved a remarkable coup in getting them here. .Collaborator Boris Giltburg has openly declared how much he loves Cambridge, so he may be the secret link.
The Quartet did not disappoint. It was so clear from the first few bars we were listening to something special.
They have been described by the BBC as the ‘greatest string Quartet of all time’ . They are celebrated for their rich tones and energetic playing. But it is surely their connection with one another that makes them so special. Like the Endellion String Quartet before them, their youthful enthusiasm, and superb playing combines in a wordless link with each other. They play from the same spirit and from the same passion for perfection.
Saturday night’s music threaded through shared people and places Dvorak’s songs began the set. Lyrical and occasionally tempestuous, Dvorak composed them over 22 years, yet they belong to his early life, and his role as a tutor to two sisters - Josefina and Anna - he married Anna when he was 32..The first song ‘ Know that my love to thee’ opened as the glamorous gold-clad Veronica Jaruskova drew her bow across her violin, it began an exquisitely beautiful sequence wonderfully rendered. There were eight songs, clearly based on folk tunes, each as finely written as the next, suffused with the romanticism of Schubert and Robert Schulman An undemanding but lovely start to any concert.
Quite a dramatic contrast to fellow countryman Martinu who was taught by Dvorak’s pupil Joseph Suk. So far from Dvorak’s ‘O Lovely Rose’ where the quartet created a peaceful idyll ,this composer was in the middle of a violent revolution of the spirit when he wrote his violent work.. Little wonder. He had returned to Paris after a trip to his homeland. It was 1938 and the Nazis had invaded. Yes it was dramatic and with sharp scherzos but interspersed with thoughtful phrases of contemplation. A memorable creation, suppressed by the Nazi règime and only found again in 1955.
Boris Giltburg appeared a for a wonderful rendition of Brahms Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Minor ( yes we lost the wonderfully expressive Marek Zwiebel on violin but got him back for a fabulous attenuated glorious encore - Dvorak’s third movement from his Quintet no.5)
A lovely evening in the presence of brilliant players - the cellist Peter Jarusek was sublime, reminiscent of David Waterman, and Simon Truszka’s viola I found the most outstanding I have heard for years.
If we are lucky we shall hear them again .
