Martinu - String Quartets 2, 3, 5 & 7
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Label: Supraphon
Cat No: SU43682
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Chamber
Release Date: 19th September 2025
Contents
Works
String Quartet no.2, H150String Quartet no.3, H183
String Quartet no.5, H268
String Quartet no.7, H314 'Concerto de camera'
Artists
Pavel Haas QuartetWorks
String Quartet no.2, H150String Quartet no.3, H183
String Quartet no.5, H268
String Quartet no.7, H314 'Concerto de camera'
Artists
Pavel Haas QuartetAbout
The Pavel Haas Quartet, one of the very top ensembles on the worldwide chamber music scene, has been devoting itself to works for quartet by Bohuslav Martinů for a number of years and has given complete presentations of them, including a series of concerts at London’s Wigmore Hall. Martinů’s deep affinity for the quartet genre is evident throughout his oeuvre: “I can’t tell you what pleasure I feel when working with those four voices... I somehow feel at home with the quartet, intimate, happy... Being independent, free, they do as they wish, and despite that, they create harmonious interplay, forming something, a new entity and a harmonic whole”. For this recording, they have chosen the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th Quartets – four widely different worlds that together create an exciting musical arch spanning more than two decades of the 20th century. The Second String Quartet was Martinů’s breakthrough, earning him international attention, then in the Third the composer gave himself plenty of room for experimentation. The Fifth (Paris, 1938) is full of emotions and inner tension, while in the post-war Seventh (New York, 1947), Martinů seems to have returned to Dvořákian romantic lyricism and melodiousness. In interpretations by the Pavel Haas Quartet, these works are heard with a new, unexpected intensity. Renowned for their rich, colourful sound, fascinating interplay, and feel for details, the Pavel Haas Quartet is able not only to understand Martinů’s language, but also to communicate it convincingly and draw listeners into the inner world of one of the greatest Czech composers of the 20th century.
Sound/Video
Paused
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1String Quartet No.5, H268 (1938): 1. Allegro ma non troppo
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2String Quartet No.5, H268 (1938): 2. Adagio
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3String Quartet No.5, H268 (1938): 3. Allegro vivo
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4String Quartet No.5, H268 (1938): 4. Lento – Allegro
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5String Quartet No.3, H183 (1929): 1. Allegro
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6String Quartet No.3, H183 (1929): 2. Andante
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7String Quartet No.3, H183 (1929): 3. Vivo
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8String Quartet No.7, H314 ‘Concerto da camera’ (1947): 1. Poco allegro
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9String Quartet No.7, H314 ‘Concerto da camera’ (1947): 2. Andante
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10String Quartet No.7, H314 ‘Concerto da camera’ (1947): 3. Allegro vivo
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11String Quartet No.2, H150 (1925): 1. Moderato – Allegro Vivace
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12String Quartet No.2, H150 (1925): 2. Andante
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13String Quartet No.2, H150 (1925): 3. Allegro
Europadisc Review
Just a few months ago, the Czech label Supraphon released a critically-acclaimed two-disc set of the complete works for cello and piano by Bohuslav Martinů, performed by Vilém Vlček and Denis Linnik. Now, they make a further welcome addition to the composer’s discography with a disc of four of his string quartets. These works have appeared before on Supraphon, in a complete recording by the Panocha Quartet which dates from 1979–83. A new recording in excellent modern sound is therefore highly welcome, and who better to undertake the task than the label’s star ensemble, the Pavel Haas Quartet? The PHQ has already set new benchmarks in the quartets of Smetana, Dvořák, Janáček and, of course, Pavel Haas himself. Here, in Quartets nos. 2, 3, 5 and 7, they are every bit as compelling in the service of Martinů, a string player himself, who had a lifelong affinity for the string quartet genre.
Of the four quartets presented on the disc, only the Fifth extends to the traditional four movements, the other three being compact three-movement works, none extending beyond 20 minutes in length. The Fifth, however, is another matter. Dating from 1938 (the year of Martinů’s final visit to his native Czechoslovakia, before World War II drove him to permanent exile), it is a work whose explosive energy has never been so vividly conveyed as it is here: no wonder it was chosen to open the disc. There’s a Bartókian grittiness to the opening bars, as the four players really dig into their instruments, combining depth of tone with a thrilling earthiness of attack. But, even amid the turbulence of the opening Allegro ma non troppo, there’s also a characteristic lyricism to much of the music, and the players are equally responsive to this, even while preserving their renowned unanimity of ensemble.
The haunting Adagio, with its punctuating viola quavers (first heard pizzicato, high up in the treble clef), points to an unspoken programmatic element that is especially evident in this intense performance. The Allegro vivo third movement bristles with urgency and energy, and once again the PHQ players are not afraid to attack their instruments with vigour. This is a movement of rapidly shifting moods and textures, and they have never been as absorbingly realised as they are here. After that hair-rising ride, the fourth movement lowers the temperature with a lengthy slow introduction that seems poised between nostalgia and anxiety, before a theme in octaves characterised by disjunct motion launches the impassioned Allegro. The tempo eventually winds down, but simultaneously the dynamics build to a weighty series of chords, leading to a sombre final G minor chord.
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. Yet the three other works on the disc are no less characterful, each in their own way. The Second Quartet (1925) was the first work to bring international recognition for its composer, and although he apparently softened some of the more extreme dissonances in the outer movements, its outer movements have a captivating energy, as well as an extended third-movement cadenza for the first violin (superbly executed by Veronika Jarůšková). I’d hesitate to describe the central Andante (as the booklet notes do) as ‘the brightest’ of the three, for although its middle section does indeed achieve a raptness underscored by its high-lying textures and soaring first violin line, the framing outer parts are eerily sombre.
Dating from four years later, the compact Third Quartet (it lasts just 14 minutes) is full of colouristic devices that pay tribute to his years of study in Paris, his base for 17 years before war forced him into exile in the US. The flute-like muted trills in the second violin are particularly ear-catching in this performance. The densely-scored second movement combines impressionistic textures with a certain post-impressionist detachment, as well as a soulful viola solo, while the Vivo third movement has the character of a scherzo, with relentlessly driven outer sections framing a quixotic ‘trio’ that makes full use of string harmonics.
Martinů’s Seventh and final quartet dates from his years in the states. Composed in 1947, and dedicated to his wife Charlotte, it is subtitled ‘Concerto da camera’, and the influence of Stravinskian neoclassicism is most palpable in the cut of the first movement’s opening theme. Yet Martinů can’t keep his natural lyricism in check for too long, and the music has an unalloyed music. This is balanced by a nostalgically-tinged central Andante that seems to harken back to the Romanticism of Dvořák. The final Allegro vivo gallops along with irresistible high spirits and an infectious main theme featuring anapaest rhythm. There are some delicious episodes along the way, and the sheer exuberance of the music belies its frosty critical reception in 1949, when it was too conservative.
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.
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