Janoska Ensemble

© Andreas H. Bitesnich

Janoska Ensemble

An exciting and adventurous journey to the final frontiers that no musician has ventured before.

New directions in music are currently trending under imaginative names, with fusion and crossover categories continuously expanding. The classically trained Janoska Ensemble, however, transcends all boundaries with its polyglot musical language. Their debut CD, which climbed to gold status within just a few months, bears the fitting title JANOSKA STYLE (Deutsche Grammophon, 2016). Their 2019 album REVOLUTION also achieved gold status. In 2022, their third album, titled THE BIG B's, was released, and their fourth Deutsche Grammophon album, THE FOUR SEASONS, is in preparation (release: October 2024).

Summarizing the distinctive quality of Janoska's arrangements in a few words is no easy task. They represent parallel ventures into classical territory and distant realms of musical repertoire, where the musicians use their spontaneous creativity to craft first-class, innovative, and captivating music that is alive and breathing. These exceptionally audience-friendly transformations are the work of three brothers from Bratislava—Ondrej and Roman Janoska on violins and František Janoska on piano—together with their brother-in-law, Julius Darvas, from Konstanz, on double bass. Both families share a long tradition of musical excellence. The Janoskas have been making music for six generations, while Julius Darvas continues a lineage of three or more generations of double bass playing. Another quality that unites the ensemble members is their outstanding classical training and award-winning solo performances. In recognition of their exceptional musical achievements, the ensemble was awarded the Slovak National Prize, the "Crystal Wing Award," in 2023.

The ensemble’s original compositions, which selectively enrich their programs with meaningful titles, serve as emotional calling cards, shedding light on the personalities of these outstanding artists. In their unique style, the four musicians express their love of improvisation with passionate dedication and consummate virtuosity, rewarded by thunderous applause from discerning audiences on four continents.

The Janoska Ensemble is—in pop jargon—a "live band." Their emotional intelligence and subtle humor in engaging with the audience, combined with their masterfully staged performances of familiar melodies and surprising new compositions, consistently bring listeners to their feet, almost always resulting in enthusiastic standing ovations. Their Janoska Style, their never superficial virtuosity, and their ability to engage in a quick musical dialogue with one another and the audience have led to collaborations with renowned artists such as Anna Netrebko, Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin, Juan Diego Flórez, Brian McKnight, Julian Rachlin, Randy Newman, Biréli Lagrène, and Lalo Schifrin.

Despite their busy schedule of engagements and tours, the Janoska Ensemble conveys an inexhaustible passion for music-making. The four musicians are constantly working on new programs and projects. Their unique "Janoska Style" serves as the foundation for everything yet to come and is the hallmark of one of the most exciting and universal music ensembles of our time.

Janoska Style: Every piece is a unique creation, born from the magic of the moment.

Describing exactly what defines the Janoska Style takes more than a sentence—listing all its biographical and artistic components would take too long and would not do it justice. But what is it exactly? Classical works in new arrangements, with influences reaching into today’s music! A central element is the lost art of improvisation, especially in connection with classical music. The Janoska Ensemble creates new, never-before-seen synergies, bridges between the original and its modern interpretation, combined with a fusion of improvisation and creativity: in short, the Janoska Style.

The four members of the Janoska Ensemble embody all the criteria of the "Janoska Style" to perfection: solid classical training, decades of playing experience from an early age, a deeply rooted musical tradition, the highest technical precision, and a profound joy in performing, including the art of free improvisation. All this makes the ensemble greater than the sum of its parts; it is, rather, a perfectly balanced musical family. The double bassist, Julius Darvas, also acts as the program's moderator. He describes the "Janoska Effect," the interplay during a concert, as follows: "The audience's mood directly influences our joy of playing, especially when it comes to improvisation: we give—we receive—we give more—we receive more... And it keeps going. Then the energy in the concert hall really starts to flow!"

The Janoska Ensemble is also on a continuous "improvisation mission" in the field of workshops and masterclasses. Their teaching activities have taken them to the Kronberg Academy and the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, among other places. The participants' reactions were consistently enthusiastic: working with the Janoska Ensemble, they said, gave them much more confidence to improvise freely in a classical context.

• Ondrej Janoska plays a violin by Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi from 1760, kindly provided by the Goh Family Collection.
• Roman Janoska plays a Ferdinandus Gagliano Filius, Nicolai fecit Neap. 1769, kindly loaned from the collection of Dr. Christian Kuhn.
• František Janoska is a Bösendorfer artist.
• Julius Darvas, Roman Janoska, and Ondrej Janoska are Thomastik-Infeld artists.