Repertoire
Reviews

Frederik Øland, violin
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, Violin
Asbjørn Nørgaard, Viola
Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, Cello

“...these [PRISM] releases must qualify as some of the most essential listening of the past decade. No recording could quite capture what makes the Danish so special in concert, could make indelible the fleeting aura of rapt, intense concentration that settles in a hall when they are at their best. But the five “Prism” releases come close...” 
— David Allen, The New York Times 

“What they do know is how to be an exceptional quartet, whatever repertory they play.” 
— Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times 

 “But nothing could have truly prepared me for the tornado of energy that the quartet unleashed with its performance of Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14, “Death and the Maiden.”… So what is it about them that prompts such acclaim? …For my part, I’ve got to give it to two things: their commitment to connecting and contextualizing music from all areas of the concert music tradition and beyond, and the unbridled joy they take in playing with one another.”
— A.Z. Madonna, Boston Globe  

“The Danish String Quartet stand out: not because they’re shinier or plusher or pushier than the rest, but because of their nimble charisma, stylish repertoire and the way their light and grainy shading can turn on a dime.”— Kate Molleson, The Guardian

“They could be grounded in their tone or mystical. They allowed time to stand still, and they could assume the pose of excitingly aggressive rockers. They did it all.” — Mark Swed, The Los Angeles Times

“The Danish are remarkable, as ever – capable of intense blend, extreme dynamic variation (in which they seem glued together), perfect intonation even on harmonics, and constant vitality and flow.” — Andrew Mellor, Gramophone

"This is one of the best quartets before the public today." — Robert Battey, The Washington Post

The GRAMMY®-nominated Danish String Quartet continue to assert their preeminence among the world’s finest string quartets.  Celebrated for their “intense blend, extreme dynamic variation (in which they seem glued together), perfect intonation even on harmonics, and constant vitality and flow” (Gramophone) and renowned for the palpable joy they exude in music-making, the Danish String Quartet has become one of today’s most in-demand classical quartets, performing to sold-out concert halls around the world.

The Quartet’s inventive and intriguing programming and repertoire choices have produced critically acclaimed original projects and commissions as well as sophisticated arrangements of Scandinavian folk tunes.  In August 2024, the Quartet releases their long-awaited third album of folk-inspired traditional and original tunes, Keel Road, on ECM.  Comprising 14 tracks, all arranged by the Danish String Quartet, Keel Road is a retracing of musical pathways across the North Sea, from Denmark and Norway to the Faroe Islands, England, and Ireland.  The release of Keel Road marks the Quartet’s tenth anniversary of exploring Scandinavian folk traditions, beginning with their 2014 album Wood Works and followed by Last Leaf (ECM 2017); the latter was chosen as one of the top classical albums of the year by NPR, Spotify and The New York Times.  
With a growing audience in North America, they embark on four tours this season that bring them to 24 cities in the US and Canada, beginning with major summer festivals including Aspen and Tanglewood.  They will also perform at Cal Performances and UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures in California, Carnegie Hall in New York, Nashville Symphony’s Chamber Music Series and Friends of Chamber Music in Denver.  Outside the US, they perform this season in Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Italy and Greece.

The Danish String Quartet continues to tour its ambitious DOPPELGÄNGER initiative, a multi-year commissioning project pairing world premieres by four composers with major quartets and quintets by Schubert.  In the 2024–2025 season, the Quartet, joined by cellist Johannes Rostamo, perform Thomas Adès’s Wreath for Franz Schubert (paired with Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major) at Tanglewood and the Ottawa Chamberfest and in Amsterdam and Leipzig.  In the spring of 2025, they return to Carnegie Hall and Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and to Flagey in Brussels, Belgium, to perform Bent Sørensen’s DOPPELGÄNGER commission, paired with Schubert’s Quartet in G Major.  In addition, they perform a variety of repertoire this season, including original tunes and elegant arrangements of traditional tunes from their new ECM album, Keel Road and work by Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Caroline Shaw, and 18th century Celtic harpist and composer Turlough O'Carolan.

The final disc in the Quartet’s five-disc PRISM series on ECM—which The New York Times called “essential listening” - was released to great acclaim in April 2023, and The New York Times dubbed the collection “essential listening.”  PRISM explores the symbiotic musical and contextual relationships between Bach fugues, Beethoven string quartets, and works by Shostakovich, Schnittke, Bartók, Mendelssohn, and Webern.  The Quartet’s discography also reflects the ensemble’s special affinity for Scandinavian composers, with the complete quartets of Carl Nielsen (Dacapo, 2007 and 2008) and Adès, Nørgård & Abrahamsen (their debut on ECM in 2016).  This season, the Quartet plan to record the complete DOPPELGÄNGER series for ECM.
 The Quartet takes an active role in reaching new audiences through special projects.   In 2007, they established the DSQ Festival, which takes place in intimate and informal settings in Copenhagen.  In 2016, they inaugurated a concert series, Series of Four, in which they both perform and invite colleagues to appear.  They have been the recipient of many awards and appointments, including Musical America’s 2020 Ensemble of the Year; the Borletti-Buitoni Trust; BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist; and a coveted spot in the Bowers Program (formerly CMS Two).  In 2011, the Quartet were awarded the Carl Nielsen Prize, the highest cultural honour in Denmark.

The Danish Quartet recently celebrated their 20th Anniversary in 2024, having formed when violinists Frederik Øland and Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen and violist Asbjørn Nørgaard were teenagers under the mentorship of Tim Frederiksen of Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Academy of Music.  In 2008, the three Danes were joined by Norwegian cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin. 

2024/2025

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