"I’m satisfied. It went quickly"... Antonín Dvořák jotted down at the end of the sketch for his String Quartet Op.96. The work, one of the most beautiful quartet pieces in the history of music, originated in America hard on the heels of the “New World” Symphony. The American critics lavished it with praise: “Why didn’t Dvořák come here earlier, since he can write such great music in America.”

The “American” quartet and, perhaps to an even greater extent, the subsequent quartet, Op.106 - the first composition Dvořák created after his return from America, are a heartfelt matter for the youthful Pavel Haas Quartet. The ensemble displays its outstanding qualities: equilibrium between precision and spontaneity, remarkable interplay and the “solo” potential of all the musicians.

Here is the most popular of Dvořák’s chamber repertoire performed by one of the world’s most exciting string quartets.

see here for further recordings by the Pavel Haas Quartet