Extending String Quartet: Love for the Czech Republic

There is no doubt that the Pavel Haas Quartet has a fondness for the music of its compatriots like no other. Czech master Bohuslav Martinů is one such compatriot. To give a glimpse into the beauty of this composer’s attractive but unruly musical idiom, the quartet made a striking selection, in which Martinů’s string quartet language comes alive in all its facets. Martinů took over from his compatriots Smetana, Dvořák and Janáček as the greatest Czech composer in the 20th century. Like his predecessors, he intensely loved the string quartet, writing seven of them between 1918 and 1947. The Third closes a period when Bohemian rhythms and melodies were paramount. The works from his middle period bear a neo-classical stamp, with the Fifth taking on a more introverted tone. After fleeing from the European war effort, Martinů wrote energetic string quartets in the United States full of distinctive rhythms.