Prism III Danish String Quartet

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131
• 1 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: 1. Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo 08:08
• 2 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: 2. Allegro molto vivace 03:00
• 3 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: 3. Allegro moderato - Adagio 00:50
• 4 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: 4. Andante ma non troppo e molto cantabile - Allegretto 14:47
• 5 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: 5. Presto 05:15
• 6 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: 6. Adagio quasi un poco andante 02:28
• 7 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: 7. Allegro 06:47
• Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945): String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7, Sz. 40
• 8 Bartók: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7, Sz. 40: 1. Lento 10:23
• 9 Bartók: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7, Sz. 40: 2. Allegretto 08:37
• 10 Bartók: String Quartet No .1, Op. 7, Sz. 40: 3a. Introduzione. Allegro 01:42
• 11 Bartók: String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7, Sz. 40: 3b. Allegro vivace 10:26
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1
• 12 J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Fugue in C-Sharp Minor, BWV 849 (Arr. Förster for Strings) 04:24
• Total Runtime 01:16:47

Info for Prism III

Das neue Album des schillernden Streichquartetts erscheint am 12. März 2021. Es ist der dritte Teil der im Herbst 2018 bei ECM New Series in München gestarteten Albumserie “Prism”, die in fünf Folgen den späten Streichquartetten Beethovens nachspürt. Jedes einzelne Album kombiniert eines der in ihrer poetischen Wirkung so frappierend modern anmutenden Streichquartette des späten Beethoven mit einer Bach-Fuge und einem neueren Werk der Quartett-Literatur. Das Danish String Quartet trägt damit dem Umstand Rechnung, dass Beethoven sich intensiv mit Bachs Fugenkunst befasste und der Einfluss seiner visionären Streichquartette zugleich weit in die moderne Zeit hineinreichte.

Im Zentrum des jetzt angekündigten Albums “Prism III” steht Beethovens Streichquartett Nr. 14 in cis-Moll (op. 131), gefolgt von Bartóks Streichquartett Nr. 1 (op. 7, Sz 40) und Bachs Fuge in cis-Moll (BWV 849), arrangiert für Streichquartett von dem Beethoven-Zeitgenossen Emanuel Aloys Förster.

Einen ersten Eindruck von dem neuen Album des Danish String Quartett kann man sich ab 19. Februar 2021 verschaffen, wenn mit dem abschließenden Allegro aus Beethovens Streichquartett Nr. 14 ein Satz auf den Streamingplattformen bereitgestellt wird, dessen stimmungsmäßigen Gehalt Richard Wagner in die suggestiven Worte kleidete: “Das ist der Tanz der Welt selbst: wilde Lust, schmerzliche Klage, Liebesentzücken, höchste Wonne, Jammer, Rasen, Wollust und Leid…”

Danish String Quartet

Danish String Quartet
As a string quartet, we find ourselves at the core of the classical music world. On a daily basis we delve deeply into works by great masters such as Beethoven and Mozart, but we also play the occasional folk gig. Over the years we have been fortunate to study in many different places in masterclasses with renowned teachers and have had opportunities to perform in major concert halls across the world. Sometimes a friendly reviewer has written nice things about us too. We have participated in competitions and made some recordings as well. If you want to know more about all this stuff, check out the ‘press‘ page on our site, where you can download a PDF with all the text you could hope for.

Here’s a simpler story of the quartet: We are three Danes and one Norwegian cellist, making this a truly Scandinavian endeavor. We are often joking about ourselves being modern Vikings – perhaps a touch more harmless than our ancestors – we are not pillaging cities or razing the English coastline! We are simply your friendly neighborhood string quartet with above average amounts of beard.The three of us met very early in our lives in the Danish countryside at an amazing summer camp for enthusiastic amateur musicians. Not yet teenagers, we were the youngest players, so we hung out all the time playing football and chamber music together. During the regular school year we would get together often to play music and just have fun. We became best friends. In 2001, professor Tim Frederiksen of The Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen got in touch with us and started coaching us on a regular basis. All of the sudden, at the ages of 15 and 16, we were a serious string quartet. It all happened so fast that none of us seemed to notice the transition.

Time passed and we grew up. We were enrolled at The Royal Academy of Music and our life as music students had begun. Funnily enough, none of us have any memory of our lives without the string quartet. In 2008 Norwegian cellist Fredrik joined in, generously adding to the amount of beard and general Vikingness of the group. We found him hidden away in a castle outside Stockholm. During his free time, Fredrik can be found fixing or sailing his sailboat somewhere in Scandinavia.The rest of us spend time with different hobbies – old cars, cooking, gaming, reading, playing, talking, and drinking. Yes, playing string quartets is our job, and yes it is hard work, but we mostly do it for pleasure, like we always did.There is so much amazing music to delve into, and our hope is to continue our travels through life and music together as a quartet. We want to be able to share our music with as many people as possible. And of course, the ultimate goal is to beat Valentin Berlinsky’s (Borodin String quartet) world record of “most years in the same chamber music group”. We will reach that goal around 2060 and on that day we will host a giant feast – you shall all be invited!

Booklet for Prism III