Antonín Dvořák - String Quartets Nos. 12 & 13 (Pavel Haas Quartet)

Information

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

• String Quartet No. 13 in G major, Op. 106
• String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96 "American"

Pavel Haas Quartet

    Veronika Jarůšková, violin

    Eva Karová, violin

    Pavel Nikl, viola

    Peter Jarůšek, cello

Date: 2010

Label: Supraphon

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Review

Playing like this disarms criticism. These performances are as fine as any, making comparison basically pointless. The “American” has that artless freshness and simple joy in vivid color that Dvorák’s folk-like melodies demand. The players take the first-movement exposition repeat (what sane person wouldn’t want to hear it twice?), offer vivaciously sprung rhythms in the scherzo and finale, and deliver a slow movement that’s soulful but never tacky. This is without question a performance in the great Czech tradition, in which immaculate ensemble and beautifully smooth sonority never overwhelm the music’s purposeful forward thrust.

The Thirteenth Quartet is simply one of the very greatest works in the genre, arguably the finest after Beethoven (and that’s not forgetting Brahms). At 36 minutes, it operates on a symphonic scale, but its depth and intimacy belong uniquely to the quartet medium. The performance, once again, is magnificent, particularly in the Adagio non troppo, where the players find a perfect tempo and phrase the music with exceptional sensitivity. If the coupling looks appealing, then snap this release up without delay. [1/12/2011]

— David Hurwitz

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Antonín Dvořák (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer. He was the second Czech composer to achieve worldwide recognition, after Bedřich Smetana. Following Smetana's nationalist example, many of Dvořák's works show the influence of Czech folk music, such as his  two sets of Slavonic Dances, the Symphonic Variations, and the overwhelming majority of his songs. Dvořák wrote in a variety of forms: nine symphonies, ten operas, three concertos, several symphonic poems, serenades for string orchestra and wind ensemble, more than 40 works of chamber music, and piano music.

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The Pavel Haas Quartet, founded in 2002 and based in Prague, is named after Czech-Jewish composer Pavel Haas. Mentored by Milan Škampa of the Smetana Quartet, they record exclusively for Supraphon. The Quartet received their five Gramophone Awards for their recordings of Dvořák, Smetana, Schubert, Janáček and Haas, including the prestigious Recording of the Year in 2011 for Dvořák's String Quartets Nos. 12 & 13. The Quartet has performed at leading international venues such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall and Musikverein. Since 2022, they have served as Artists-in-Residence at the Dvořák Prague Festival.

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