Pavel Haas Quartet & Milana Strezeva

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Pavel Haas Quartet / Milana Strezeva
Veronika Jarůšková, violin
Marek Zwiebel, violin
Šimon Truszka, viola
Peter Jarůšek, cello
Milana Strezeva, piano

“One of the truly outstanding ensembles of our time.” – Süddeutsche Zeitung

The Pavel Haas Quartet is revered across the globe for its richness of timbre, infectious passion and intuitive rapport. Performing at the world’s most prestigious concert halls and having won five Gramophone Awards and numerous others for their recordings, the Quartet is firmly established as one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles.

The Quartet appears at major venues, including Wigmore Hall, London; Philharmonie and Konzerthaus, Berlin; Musikverein, Vienna; Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg; Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam; Tonhalle, Zürich; Théâtre de la Ville, Paris; Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome; BOZAR, Brussels; NCPA, Beijing; LG Arts Centre, Seoul and Carnegie Hall, New York. In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Quartet was invited to be on the cover of The Strad’s June 2022 issue and was the featured interview in BBC Music Magazine in the same month. They were included in the latter magazine’s 10 greatest string quartet ensembles of all time and were described as “stylistically powerful and richly sonorous, [and] known for its passionate and fearless performances.”

In the 23/24 season, the Quartet returns to the Wigmore Hall for four concerts: Rudolfinum Prague; Teatro La Fenice; Liverpool Philharmonic Hall; Göteborgs Konserthus; National Concert Hall, Dublin; Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam; Philharmonie Luxembourg. Further afield, the Quartet tours the United States in March 2024 and Asia in May 2024.

Since September 2022, the Pavel Haas Quartet has been Artist-in-Residence at the Dvořák Prague Festival and curated the chamber music concerts including programming all the Dvořák String Quartets and chamber music works over the three seasons.

The Pavel Haas Quartet records exclusively for Supraphon. Their most recent recording of the Brahms Viola and Piano Quintets with Boris Giltburg and their former member, Pavel Nikl, was released to critical acclaim in May 2022. The recording was described as “radiant and vivacious” by The Strad, and was Presto Classical’s Recording of the Week. For their previous album of Shostakovich String Quartets (2019), they received the Recording of the Year by Classic Prague Awards and were named one of the 100 best records of the year by The Times.

The Quartet received their five Gramophone Awards for their recordings of Dvořák, Smetana, Schubert, Janáček and Haas, as well as Dvořák’s String Quartets No.12 ‘American’ and No.13, for which they were awarded the most coveted prize, Gramophone Recording of the Year in 2011. The Sunday Times commented: “their account of the ‘American’ Quartet belongs alongside the greatest performances on disc.” Further accolades include BBC Music Magazine Awards and the Diapason d’Or de l’Année in 2010 for their recording of Prokofiev String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2.

Since winning the Paolo Borciani competition in Italy in 2005, further highlights early on in their career have included the nomination as ECHO Rising Stars in 2007, the participation in the BBC New Generation Artists scheme between 2007–2009 and the Special Ensemble Scholarship the Borletti-Buitoni Trust awarded to them 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 tragically died at Auschwitz three years later. His legacy includes three wonderful string quartets.

“[Milana Strezeva] Technically fluid, dramatically convincing, and sonically full-bodied supportive collaborations.” – Boston Globe

Milana Strezeva is an accomplished pianist, founding member of the Manhattan Piano Trio, and co-founder of the Grand Piano Series.  Milana’s experience as a stellar performer and strategic arts executive has come together at the Grand Piano Series, where she has demonstrated an innate ability to foster collaborations and contribute positively to community enrichment through music.

Under Milana’s excellent stewardship and an unwavering commitment to artists, the Grand Piano Series has grown and flourished since its founding in 2016.  As President and Artistic Director of the organization for the past eight years, Milana has demonstrated a meticulous approach to cultivating fiscal health and innovative growth, garnering admiration across Southwest Florida and beyond.

Critics have praised Milana for her “technically fluid, dramatically convincing, and sonically full-bodied supportive collaborations” (Boston Globe). At the age of 11, she began playing chamber music with her clarinetist father and her mother, a renowned soprano, Svetlana Strezeva. Milana’s love for family collaboration eventually grew into a passionate advocacy of vocal and instrumental chamber music.

A founding member of the award-winning Manhattan Piano Trio, one of the most creative and dynamic ensembles in America, Milana has performed in more than 30 American states, in Australia, South Africa, and Italy, and venues such as Alice Tully Hall (Lincoln Center), Merkin Hall (Kaufman Music Center), and the Ravinia Festival (Chicago).  The Washington Post described the Trio as “impressive” and “outstanding,” while the Sarasota Herald-Tribune said, “One seldom is privileged to enjoy the music of such a wide range of styles performed with self-effacing skill and relaxed assurance.”

Milana has received her training at The Juilliard School as a student of Bella Davidovich and Julian Martin.