EIF 26: Pavel Haas Quartet

Europe meets the US in a celebration of the string quartet, with music from Dvořák, Korngold and Martinů.

The Czech Pavel Haas Quartet bring their characteristic joie de vivre to three engaging quartets, by composers who reached across the Atlantic to explore new musical avenues.  

Bohuslav Martinů’s Third Quartet is a fascinating exploration of texture, with its spiky opening movement and its bluesy central Andante. The finale is an absolute riot of speed and virtuosity.

Before he headed for Hollywood and a much-garlanded career as a film composer, Erich Korngold was a busy and successful composer in his native Austria. He wrote his Second String Quartet shortly before he left for the US. While it charms and dances, it also disconcerts with some dissonant, sharp edges.

Antonín Dvořák’s quartets from the 1890s are some of his most flamboyantly tuneful chamber works. His ‘American’ quartet is infused with folk melodies from his three-year stay in the United States.

Presented by Edinburgh International Festival