Ullmann * Krása * Schulhoff * Haas - CD

This CD presents the Bennewitz Quartet performing chamber works by composers whose lives and careers were connected with Czechoslovakia’s musical life between the two world wars, the Jewish ghetto in Terezín and the horrors of German Nazism. The programme includes Viktor Ullmann’s String Quartet No. 3, written in Terezín; Hans Krása’s Theme and Variations for String Quartet, completed in 1936 and first performed in Terezín alongside the children’s opera Brundibár; Erwin Schulhoff’s Five Pieces for String Quartet, inspired by rhythm, dance and the music of Viennese salons, Italy and Spain; and Pavel Haas’s String Quartet No. 2 “From the Monkey Mountains”, which confirms his reputation as Leoš Janáček’s most gifted pupil. Ullmann, Krása and Haas were deported to Auschwitz in October 1944 and murdered there. The Bennewitz Quartet, featuring Jakub Fišer and Štěpán Ježek on violin, Jiří Pinkas on viola and Štěpán Doležal on cello, is joined by Pavel Rehberger on percussion in Haas’s work. The quartet has earned international recognition through competition victories in Osaka and Italy and performances at major venues and festivals. Their interpretation brings an especially fitting artistic connection to the music of the Terezín composers.