Double bassist Filip Jaro and pianist Xénia Jarová have performed as a concert duo since 2011.
Their repertoire consists of works by Slovak and international composers for chamber ensemble, complemented by compositions by forgotten double bass virtuosos. One of them was Johann Matthias Sperger, a double bassist and composer whose name the duo carries in its title. They devote special attention to the tradition of Slovak repertoire (Rajter, Frešo, Kupkovič, Suchoň) and to presenting works by 19th-century Czech double bass virtuosos (Míšek, Láska, Storch, Simandl, Kuchynka).
Through their numerous concert activities, Sperger Duo contributes every year to promoting the double bass as a solo instrument in Slovakia. They have appeared, for example, in the concert series Sunday Matinées at Mirbach Palace, Albrechtina, Musical Evenings at Palisády, at the festival Academic Concerts in Prešov, and in concerts at the New Synagogue in Žilina.The duo has also presented a recital broadcast live on Slovak Radio.
Together with bass singer Peter Mikuláš, the Jaros performed rare concert arias for bass and double bass by Mozart and Sperger. In 2016, they appeared at the 5th Biennial European Double Bass Congress BASS2016 PRAGUE, and in April 2020 they performed in the Slovak Philharmonic’s chamber series Concerts Without Audience.
In 2016, the duo released its debut CD Sonatas for Double Bass and Piano, which became the first Slovak CD to be reviewed by Europe’s most widely followed double bass website and received exceptionally high professional acclaim in a review by Prof. Liuzzi. The duo’s latest CD is Czech Double Bass Treasures (2022). It contains complete world premiere recordings and presents impressive, highly virtuosic works of Czech double bass Romanticism and Art Nouveau.
F. Jaro and X. Jarová are members of the international Johann Matthias Sperger Society and, as founders of the civic association Chamber Soloists of J. M. Sperger, initiated the festival Bratislava Days of J. M. Sperger.