I always find it extraordinary that a small group can produce such a huge sound, full of raw power and magnificent enormity… A notable example of this is in Op. 34, where, aided by Giltburg’s lavishly sonorous contribution, they provide a sumptuous conclusion to the first movement that conjures the resonance of a much larger ensemble. Another constant thread running through all their recordings is the range and variety of timbres that they deliver, and the ease with which they switch between them… with these splendid accounts of both quintets they have most certainly not disappointed.

…the sound of pianist Boris Giltburg reunited with the Pavel Haas Quartet, still a potent partnership… Giltburg brings the weight and sonorous tone that the piano part needs, but he stays fully integrated with the opulent sound of this quartet. Always part of the team. The richness, the flexibility of phrasing and the sheer dynamic range of the ensemble is impressive, and they are joined by viola player Pavel Nikl for Brahms’ G major string quintet… Outstanding Brahms chamber music, then.

Boris Giltburg is an equal partner in all this, of course, and the colour and variety of his tone is a marvel in itself… These performances are tremendously rewarding and I urge my fellow Brahmsians to hear them.

The Pavel Haas Quartet and Boris Giltburg take on the piece with no holds barred: this is an all-giving, full-on version in which the sense of involvement is total and the exhilaration scarcely stops, but for the beautifully tranquil second movement…

Il faudra désormais compter avec la vision très fusionnelle de l’excellent quatuor tchèque avec Boris Giltburg. Il règne entre eux une unité sonore assez extraordinaire: l’ensemble cordes-piano sonne littéralement comme un corps unique dont les parties s’envoient la réplique au fil de l’interprétation. Le Pavel Haas confirme cette lecture fort unitaire de Brahms dans le 2e quintette où il est rejoint par l’altiste Pavel Nikl.

La sonorité d’ensemble puissante et pleine d’énergie du Quatuor Pavel Haas tranche avec presque toutes les autres formations d’aujourd’hui. En termes de volume, d’engagement, de vitalité, c’est absolument impressionnant, dès le mouvement initial du Quintette op. 34 en fa mineur. Le pianiste Boris Giltburg s’investit à fond dans la grandiose architecture, sans que son souci d’extrême précision n’agisse au detriment de la dynamique collective et de l’édifice polyphonique…

This new version by the estimable Pavel Haas Quartet, joined by pianist Boris Giltburg, is, by every measure, an exceptionally fine performance, technically flawless, musically gratifying, and captured by a vivid, detailed recording… Superbly well-done as it is, however, I would have to place Giltburg and the Pavel Haas Quartet in the mainstream of recorded performances of the work, comparable to those by András Schiff with the Takács Quartet and Leon Fleisher with the Emerson Quartet, which is hardly a bad place to be. Clearly, the comparison places the Haas and Giltburg in company with the elite…