On the eve of the closing of the festival the Pavel Haas Quartet, which has established itself as one of the most important chamber orchestras of the present, performed at the Castle Riding Hall.

Recently the ensemble has been nominated for the Gramophone Award for last year’s album with Franz Schubert’s compositions Death and the Maiden and String Quartet in C Major. It had received this prestigious award twice in the past. The quartet bears the name of Pavel Haas, who was imprisoned in the ghetto in Terezín in 1941 and died in Auschwitz three years later. The musicians played Ervín Schulhoff’s String Quartet No. 1. Ervín Schulhoff was a contemporary of Pavel Haas with a similar fate, he died in a concentration camp. Besides the above, the audience also heard compositions by Antonín Dvořák and Johannes Brahms. “This is the first time we have played at this festival and we are really glad that we have been invited, it was the opening concert of our new season. It is our quartet debut in Český Krumlov. My husband and I remembered that we were dating each other when we played in Český Krumlov with an orchestra a long time ago,” violinist Veronika Jarůšková was laughing together with her husband violoncellist Peter Jarůšek. And what are the quartet’s plans for the near future? “Besides concerts in the Czech Republic and also abroad we are going to record a new CD with Bedřich Smetana’s String Quartet No. 1 and No. 2. So far we have primarily focused on classical composers but we don’t avoid modern styles either.” Is it difficult to break through among other chamber orchestras abroad? “Of course, the competition is big and one must literally play for dear life. There are many great ensembles around the world. First of all, it is work from the very beginning. The ensemble must then be prepared at the given moment when it gets an opportunity. The turning point for us was the victory in the competition, but this by itself doesn’t mean anything, it is only an opportunity, which should be used. But regardless of all the successes, the most beautiful reward of all is when somebody comes to you after the concert and tells you how much you delighted him.”