Following the exceptional critical success and popularity of the Danish String Quartet’s latest recording, Last Leaf, which was ranked among the best recordings of 2017 by New York Times, NPR, WQXR, Boston Globe, Spotify, and Billboard, among others, the Quartet will embark on a new recording project, PRISM.  The project, to be released as five albums, with the first releases in Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 with further dates to be announced, also corresponds to five concert programs.  PRISM curates a series of musical sets based on the historical and musical impact of Bach’s seminal fugal writing and the great final Beethoven string quartets, and compositions which were borne out of these fundamentally influential works, including quartets by Shostakovich, Schnittke, Bartók, Mendelssohn, and Webern.

In addition to building an extensive library of outstanding recorded works, the members of the Danish String Quartet maintain their striking presence in North America for their dynamism and uncommonly intense musical sensitivity in live performances.  Due to their great and increasing demand by audiences and concert presenters, the Quartet returns twice to North America, appearing in acclaimed venues in across a dozen US states and three Canadian provinces.  Making its 92Y debut and exclusive New York City date of the concert season, the Quartet highlights its affinity for both classical and contemporary Nordic traditions with a program spanning Haydn, Hans Abrahamsen, and Beethoven.

Saturday, November 17, 2018 at 8 PM
92nd Street Y - Kaufmann Concert Hall
Danish String Quartet (92Y recital debut)
     Frederik Øland, violin
     Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violin
     Asbjørn Nørgaard, viola
     Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, cello
HAYDN Quartet in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2 (Hob. III:32)
HANS ABRAHAMSEN String Quartet No. 2 (1981)
BEETHOVEN Quartet No. 7 in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1, “Razumovsky”

In international demand for their technical prowess and interpretive talents matched by an infectious joy for music-making and “rampaging energy” (Alex Ross, The New Yorker), the Danish String Quartet has established a reputation for their integrated sound, impeccable intonation and judicious balance.  Since making their debut in 2002 at the Copenhagen Festival, the musical friends have demonstrated a passion for Scandinavian composers, who they frequently incorporate into adventurous contemporary programs, while also giving consummate and profound interpretations of the classical masters. The New York Times selected the quartet’s concerts as highlights of 2012 and 2015, and in 2016 as one of the recording highlights of the year for their ECM debut of works by Hans Abrahamsen, Per Nørgård and Thomas Adés.  The recording debuted at #16 on the Billboard Classical Chart and continues to earn international acclaim.

Additional North American Performance Dates:
2018:
Nov. 3 / Kingston, ON / Queen’s University
Nov. 4 / Toronto, ON / Royal Conservatory of Music
Nov. 5 / Quebec, QB / Club Musical de Quebec
Nov. 8 / Richmond, VA / University of Richmond
Nov. 9 / Winston-Salem, NC / Wake Forest University
Nov. 10 / Durham, NC / Duke University
Nov. 12 / Washington, DC / Washington Performing Arts
Nov. 13 / Houston, TX / Da Camera Houston
Nov. 15 / Ann Arbor, MI / University Musical Society

2019:
Feb. 17 /Berkeley, CA / Cal Performances
Feb. 19 / Provo, UT / Brigham Young University
Feb. 24 / Vancouver, BC / Vancouver Recital Society