Pizzicato magazine features review of Alinde Quintet’s latest recording
“Pavel Haas: Quintet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon op. 10”
Pavel Haas, like many Czech-Jewish composers, was murdered by the National Socialists in concentration camps. Since the 1990s, his music has also undergone a long-overdue revival.
A student of Leoš Janáček, Haas composed the Wind Quintet in 1929, marking his first international success. In this work, he successfully combines Moravian folk melodies in thematic development, synagogue chants in melodic lines, and polyrhythmic structures reminiscent of post-war European modernism. He masters compositional technique and manages to fuse these diverse stylistic elements into a distinctive, cohesive whole.
Also remarkable are the titles of the movements, whose vividness adds a theatrical dimension to the work.
The Alinde Quintet is made up of Czech musicians trained in various institutions across Europe. In the previous year, they won first prize at the ARD International Music Competition. This concert recording demonstrates the ensemble’s high interpretative skill, displayed through both a refined technical engagement with the piece and a nuanced, attentive musical interpretation. The layers of the composition are brought out with energy and stylistic precision.
