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Cleveland Chamber Music Society

Pavel Haas Quartet

Pavel Haas Quartet

Tuesday, March 16 2027, 7:30 p.m.
Cultural Arts Center at Disciples Church, Cleveland Heights

Preconcert talk with Roger Klein, 6:30 p.m.

HAAS: String Quartet No. 1
MARTINŮ: String Quartet No. 3, H. 183
JANÁCEK: String Quartet No. 1 (“Kreutzer Sonata”)
DVOŘÁK: String Quartet in A-flat major, Op. 105


What really sets this quartet apart, however, is the attitude embodied in its name: an unwavering integrity, a belief that everything it plays is a matter of life and death.
— The Times

The Pavel Haas Quartet is named in honor of Czech-Jewish composer Pavel Haas (1899–1944), whose life and career were cut tragically short during World War II. Deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1941 and later killed at Auschwitz, Haas nevertheless left behind a remarkable legacy, including three string quartets, the first of which the ensemble will perform this season. Based in Prague, the quartet consists of violinists Veronika Jarůšková and Marek Zwiebel, violist Šimon Truszka, and cellist Peter Jarůšek. From 2025 through 2027, the four performers will serve as Artist-in-Residence at the Smetana Litomyšl Festival, appearing alongside the Czech Philharmonic.

Every performance by The Pavel Haas blends searing energy with supreme refinement.
— The Arts Desk


About the Artists

The “life-enhancing” Pavel Haas Quartet (Arts Desk) is revered across the globe for its richness of timbre, infectious passion and intuitive rapport. Playing “as if their lives depend on it” (The Times), the quartet perform at the world’s most prestigious concert halls and has received numerous high-profile awards for its recordings, firmly establishing them as one of the world’s foremost string quartets.

Highlights of the 25/26 season include returns to the Musikverein, Vienna; Philharmonie de Paris; Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin; Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg; Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam; Konserthuset Stockholm and Wigmore Hall. Further afield, the Quartet returns to Taiwan’s National Concert Hall and the Seoul Arts Center, and tour North America in March 2026.

 Renowned as the leading interpreter of Eastern European chamber music masterpieces, the Quartet was named as Ambassador for the Year of Czech Music in 2024. From 2025 until 2027, the Pavel Haas Quartet is Artist-in-Residence at Smetana's Litomyšl Festival, alongside the Czech Philharmonic.

 The Quartet regularly appears at major venues including Wigmore Hall, London; Philharmonie, Berlin; Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Vienna; Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg; Tonhalle Zürich; Philharmonie de Paris; Accademia di Santa Cecilia; BOZAR, Brussels; NCPA Beijing; LG Arts Centre and Seoul Arts Center, Seoul and Carnegie Hall, New York. In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Quartet appeared on the cover of The Strad and was the featured interview in BBC Music Magazine. The latter named it among the “10 greatest string quartet ensembles of all time,” describing the Quartet as “stylistically powerful and richly sonorous, [and] known for its passionate and fearless performances.”

 The Pavel Haas Quartet records exclusively for Supraphon. In September 2025, the Quartet releases its next album of Martinu String Quartets Nos. 2, 3, 5 and 7.  The Quartet has received five Gramophone Awards for its recordings of Dvořák, Smetana, Schubert, Janáček, and Haas. For its recording of Dvořák’s String Quartets No. 12 “American” and No. 13, it was awarded the coveted Gramophone Recording of the Year in 2011. The Sunday Times commented: “their account of the ‘American’ Quartet belongs alongside the greatest performances on disc.”

 Since winning the Paolo Borciani competition in Italy in 2005, further highlights early in their career have included being nominated as ECHO Rising Stars in 2007, participating in the BBC New Generation Artists scheme between 2007–2009 and being award the Special Ensemble Scholarship by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in 2010. The Quartet is based in Prague and studied with the late Milan Škampa, the legendary violist of the Smetana Quartet. They take their name from the Czech-Jewish composer Pavel Haas (1899–1944) who was imprisoned at Theresienstadt in 1941 and was tragically killed at Auschwitz three years later. His legacy includes three wonderful string quartets.

 Veronika Jarůšková – 1st violin, Marek Zwiebel – 2nd violin, Šimon Truszka – viola, Peter Jarůšek – cello

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