The Danish String Quartet Thrills Audiences with Beethoven Cycle
February 21, 2020
"Overall, the Scandinavians’ performance kept a wonderful equilibrium between color and structure, humor and tragic sentiment, self-confidence and doubt."
—"Wonderful equilibrium: Danish String Quartet performs Beethoven’s Razumovsky Quartets" By Edward Sava-Segal for Bachtrack
Read the full review here.
"This was a remarkable concert of remarkable music."
—"Danish Quartet illuminates the twilight of late Beethoven" By George Grella for New York Classical Reivew
Read more here.
From February 7-18 the Danish String Quartet, one of the most sought-after young ensembles today, took audiences on a remarkable journey through Beethoven's complete String Quartets. The sold-out Winter Festival was part of a celebration honoring Beethoven's 250th year.
Concerts: February 7-18 at Alice Tully Hall
"It’s difficult to explain what makes the Danish String Quartet’s playing so special...To say that their performances represent a marvelous balancing of qualities suggests that they occupy some place in the middle of the road. The results are anything but: There is a winning mix of studied concentration and willful freedom in their playing."
—"A Quartet Sets a New Standard for Beethoven Marathons" By Anthony Tommasini for the New York Times
Read more here.
"The audience, many of whom had witnessed the quartet’s complete cycle, leapt to their feet in gratitude. Like a pair of great plays that encapsulate the universe of human experience, it was an evening to be savored and contemplated."
—"Danish String Quartet's Electric and Ecstatic Late Beethoven" By Brian Taylor for "Cadenza"
Read more here.
"Performing the complete Beethoven quartets in 11 days is a maven’s mountain...Somehow, they made it possible to experience this young man’s music afresh, to block out the Olympian figure Beethoven became and unhear the lightning storms that snap through his later music."
—"Why I’d Rather Hear the Danish String Quartet Than Any Other Foursome" By Justin Davidson for Vulture
Read the full article here.
"...an abundance of Classical-style pleasures—silken or glowing tone, acute musical intelligence, subtle weaving of parts, immaculate intonation and a compelling sense of line and direction—
—"Melancholy jars one out of sociable music in Danish Quartet’s Beethoven cycle" By David Wright for New York Classical Review
Read more here.
"This was dramatic playing of the highest quality"
—"Beethoven: The Early Quartets" By Clive Paget for Limelight
Read more here.
Pre-Concert Lectures with David Finckel
Before each concert of the Winter Festival, CMS Co-Artistic Director and cellist David Finckel led a pre-concert lecture on the quartets being performed. He was joined by violinists Sean Lee and Arnaud Sussmann and violist Matthew Lipman, who performed live exerpts from the works.
Watch all of the lectures on demand here.
Master Class with Violinist Frederik Øland and Cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin - February 13, 2020
Watch the full Master Class on demand here.
Post-Concert Reception and CD Signing - February 16, 2020
