Pavel Haas Quartet - formed in 2002 in the Czech Republic - has been acclaimed as one of the most exciting string quartets in modern music. Violinist Veronika Jarusková and violist Pavel Nikl formed the quartet with fellow Prague musicians Katerina Gemrotová Penková on violin and cellist Lukás Polák. The ensemble is named for the Czech composer Pavel Haas, who perished at Auschwitz during World War II but who had a major influence on classical music in his homeland. Polák left the group soon after it was formed to be replaced by Jarusková's husband, Peter Jarusek; Penková was succeeded by Marie Fuxová, Eva Karová and Marek Zwiebel. The Pavel Haas Quartet won the 2004 Vittorio E. Rimbotti Award in Florence, Italy and followed that in 2005 with a First Place prize at the Premio Paolo Borciani Competition. They made their recording debut in 2006 with Janáček: String Quartet No. 2 'Intimate Letters'/Pavel Haas: String Quartet No. 2 'From the Monkey Mountains'', followed in 2007 by Janáček: String Quartet No. 1 - Haas: String Quartets Nos 1 & 3. Further albums include Prokofiev: String Quartets Nos 1 & 2 - Sonata for Two Violins (2010), Dvořá: String Quartet in G major, Op. 106 & String Quartet in F major, Op. 96 'American' (2010), Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor - Death and the Maiden - String Quintet in C major (2013), and Smetana: String Quartets No. 1 & No. 2 (2018). Their 2017 release Dvořák: Quintets, Op. 81 & 97 rose to Number 49 on Billboard’s Classical Albums chart. In 2019, the Pavel Haas Quartet issued the album Shostakovich: String Quartets Nos. 2, 7 & 8, followed by 2022’s Brahms: Quintets Opp. 34 & 111. The group has toured internationally and has played on some of the most prestigious in the US, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, and many more countries.
