Janoska Ensemble to Bring First US Tour to Birdland Next Month

Many artists say music is in their blood. For the Janoska Ensemble, founded in 2013 by brothers Ondrej (Violinist), Frantisek (Pianist) and Roman (Violinist), together with their brother-in-law Julius Darvas (Double Bassist), the claim may literally be true.

As the sixth generation of a highly musical family, the Janoskas' talent is embedded in their DNA. Along with third generation bassist Darvas, the ensemble has developed Janoska style, a profoundly personal vision of music that explores a vast range of works, from the classical repertoire to original compositions and completely idiosyncratic arrangements informed by jazz, pop and world music.

On March 16, the acclaimed ensemble will perform in concert at Birdland in New York as part of its first U.S. multi-city tour. They will perform a program based on their exciting debut album "Janoska Style," being released in the U.S. on March 10 by Deutsche Grammophon. Visit www.birdlandjazz.com/event/1409131-borislav-strulev-new-york for more information.

What is Janoska style? Steeped in classical musical since childhood, the ensemble surely draws on instrumental traditions passed down in the family from father to son. Yet it is unlikely that any earlier generation could so uniquely and fluidly combine the classical canon with the music of the present day. Each of the group's members is an award-winning virtuoso in his own right; together they form a chamber Dream Team. They don't hide their individual styles; they let them shine. As the work on their CD attests, they are equally comfortable riffing on Paganini with dueling violins playing the original score and an improvised jazz variation, taking a Johann Strauss waltz and mixing in strains of czardas and Balkan folk tunes or composing an original rumba that harkens back to Mozart.

Their interpretations trace each work back to its source of inspiration yet make each piece thoroughly modern. "Our challenge is to create something the original composer would be proud of," says Frantisek, who does the arranging for the group.

"Artistic license is very important to us in all the pieces we play," Roman says. "It allows us to continuously create new versions and that is what constitutes Janoska Style." Adds Julius, "We arrange and compose music ourselves and on our own terms. None of our concerts are ever the same. They are a string of spontaneous reactions."

On stage, they play with a contagious joy, eliciting a vociferous stand up and cheer response normally reserved for rock stars. In touring worldwide, including concerts in Toronto, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul as well as Munich and Vienna, they've won fans and accolades across the musical spectrum. The Salzburger Nachrichten wrote, "They play with stupendous musicality, racing along with virtuosity virtually off the cuff, and the arrangements alone are stunningly refined."

"We have been making music together since we were kids," says Ondrej. "But while the Janoska style has childhood roots, each of us has traveled down his own musical path." In fact, they all completed training in Vienna, studying with the highest caliber teachers. As soloists and performers with numerous orchestras and ensembles, they have amassed impressive resumes, appearing with the likes of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra/Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Art Orchestra, Anna Netrebko, the Roby Lakatos Ensemble, Michel Camilo, Julian Rachlin, and B.B. King, to name but a few.

No wonder Andreas Großbauer, chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, raves: "The Janoska Ensemble has achieved something very special. The four musicians...have created their own unmistakable sound made up of great virtuosity, a literally inexhaustible wealth of musical ideas and bewitchingly mellow sonorities. It is with apparent effortlessness that they blend these different styles and genres to produce a heart-warming and refreshing style. A true feast for the ears!"

"Frantisek Janoska plays a Boesendorfer 280VC Piano. The Janoska Ensemble plays on handmade strings by Thomastik Infeld."