BORIS GILTBURG AND THE PAVEL HAAS QUARTET’S VERONIKA JARŮŠKOVÁ AND PETER JARŮŠEK

An album featuring Antonín Dvořák’s piano trios is being prepared by three globally renowned musicians – the Israeli pianist Boris Giltburg, the violinist Veronika Jarůšková and the cellist Peter Jarůšek, the latter two members of the celebrated Pavel Haas Quartet. They have been working on the album at the Wyastone Recording Studio in Monmouth, Wales, since last December and are set to complete it in May. The debut recording of the ensemble, who have appeared at several major international festivals, will be released by Supraphon in the autumn of 2023.

When, in 2014, the pianist Boris Giltburg and the Pavel Haas Quartet joined forces at the Zeist Music Days in the Netherlands to perform Dvořák’s Piano Quintet No. 2, they could not have had an inkling as to how fruitful their collaboration would become. Immediately understanding each other on both a professional and personal level, the artists went on to give a number of concerts worldwide and to record for Supraphon two highly critically acclaimed albums, featuring Antonín Dvořák and Johannes Brahms quintets, respectively, which garnered coveted accolades (including the Gramophone Award for the former). Over time, the violinist Veronika Jarůšková and the cellist Peter Jarůšek, as well as the pianist Boris Giltburg, mulled the idea of forming a trio. The first opportunity soon occurred – in 2018, the new ensemble performed Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Trio at the Flagey cultural centre in Brussels. Concerts at other prestigious European venues (Wigmore Hall in London, etc.) and at noted festivals (East Neuk Festival in Scotland, West Cork Music in Ireland, Schubertiade in Austria) followed. An essential role in their co-operation was played by the 2021 Dvořák Prague festival, within which Boris Giltburg assumed responsibility for its chamber music section and was assigned to perform Dvořák works, with a particular emphasis on the composer’s complete piano trios. Boris duly turned to Veronika and Peter, with the result being their joint concert at the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum in Prague, which was a resounding success. Shortly afterwards, Supraphon proposed that they make a recording of Dvořák’s trios.

Prior to the release of the debut album, we talked to the musicians, asking them about their ongoing work in the studio.

Boris: “Veronika and Peter are my closest musical friends. It’s always a great, both personal and musical, joy to play with them, whether at concerts or in the studio. Our collaboration is also a great musical inspiration to me. We took the trios from zero, because none of us had played them before, and we really built it up together! It was a complete journey, from discovering the pieces through preparation to, finally, concerts and the recording. And it was all done together side by side, in a very loving and very passionate way. Being with them on stage is one of the absolute highlights of my musical life.”

Veronika: “Boris and the two of us are incredibly closely connected. We really like working together, enjoying a friendly, almost intimate, atmosphere both on stage and in the studio! When recording Dvořák’s trios, we have immersed in the deepest emotional spheres ever. It is an amazing experience within our career, for which we are very grateful.”

Peter: “If a few years ago someone had told me we would record Dvořák’s piano trios, I would have thought it was a wind-up. It is such splendid music, Dvořák in all his beauty! Between Boris and us, there is absolute chime, which is truly rare. The present recording is one of our most intense experiences; we’ve got down to the very core. And we deem it a great honour for Supraphon to have afforded us the opportunity to make a new album of the complete Dvořák trios after a long time.”