What an outstanding release! Pavel Haas was one of the many Czech/Jewish composers interned by the Nazis at the Terezin concentration camp before being sent to the gas chambers at Auschwitz. His three string quartets are extraordinary pieces, continuing the line of development inaugurated by Janácek both in their exploration of unusual sonorities and in their use of folk and popular music for much of their melodic substance. The Quartets Nos. 2 and 3 previously were recorded by the Hawthorne Quartet as part of Decca’s Entartete Musik (Degenerate Music) series dedicated to works suppressed by the Nazi regime, but these performances are superior in every way. Not only does the Kocian Quartet play better than the Hawthorne, they include the optional jazz percussion combo in the finale of No. 2, an addition that gives the work a marvelous period flavor. These pieces comprise a major addition to the 20th century quartet repertoire, and no one who loves great chamber music can afford to pass them by. [10/5/1999]
