© Juliy Wesely
Musical passion. The “spirit” of the “Janoska Style”, with which the JANOSKA ENSEMBLE has risen internationally in rocket-like fashion within a short period of time - and not only because of its technical playing mastery. At every performance, the four artists intoxicate their audience with their music and with an enormous amount of creative energy. Because they see it as a personal challenge to meet, or even exceed, the high expectations of their fans.
Real art always crosses borders, as the three brothers from Bratislava, Ondrej, František and Roman Janoska, together with their brother-in-law Julius Darvas, born in Constance, demonstrate in a unique way: their music creations combine their originally classical subject in harmonic harmony or in contrasting colors with other genres - from jazz and latin to pop music. But the result is not a mix of styles, but a creative synthesis: the “Janoska Style”.
"Our music should touch the listeners, that's the most important thing for us!" says František Janoska. As an imaginative arranger, he also masters all imaginable styles on the piano to perfection. Roman Janoska comes up with explosive jazzy improvisations on the violin, which he sometimes beats like a guitar. The youngest in the trio of brothers explains their interplay as follows: “Each of us has special musical preferences, which we greatly appreciate. Therefore we like to give each other a lot of space. In this way, each of our pieces becomes a common work."
The four musicians fill this musical space with spontaneous creativity, which means that their pieces develop in new, exciting directions at every concert. With a lot of talent, the joy of making music together and with its incomparable stage presence, the Janoska Ensemble has created its unique style.
Thanks to its independence, this “Janoska Style” has long since become a brand with a highly sought-after musical market value. The first CD of the same name (Deutsche Grammophon, 2016) went gold straight away. The likeable musicians have performed on four continents and are constantly developing new projects. They have performed several times with renowned European orchestras with correspondingly expanded arrangements. A special novelty in the repertoire of the Janoska Ensemble is paving the way with her performance together with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra: On March 31, 2018, the first movement of a symphonic work composed by František Janoska was premiered at the “Spring in Vienna” festival.
Despite their youth, master classes have also been part of the artistic portfolio of musicians for several years - most recently in autumn 2017 at the invitation of the Yehudi Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland. What makes them particularly happy is the fact that not only many students, but also their professors, are now attending their courses. The quality of their musical spectrum is also shown by the statements of many well-known musicians, who, like the conductor Christoph Eschenbach, rave about: “The Janoska Ensemble is an extraordinary ensemble with excellent arrangements, a real discovery for me, of which you can still learn a lot will hear!"
So if you want to experience skill, extreme precision, timing and spontaneous design at the same time in a concert, the four thoroughbred musicians will give you lots of gifts - and leave the concert hall inspired, full of energy and with a smile.
Roman Janoska plays a violin, which was kindly given to him by Dr. Christian Kuhn was loaned.