Danish String Quartet

Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen wrote his first three string quartets in 1959 and his 14th and last in 2013, three years before he died. This first volume in a new cycle comes from an ensemble coached by Tim Frederiksen (he who gave us the Nightingale Quartet) at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. The Nordic Quartet gave their graduation performance at the Academy last autumn.

The string quartets of Danish music's eccentric outsider Rued Langgaard (1893-1952) are passionate works of the composer's youth, representing both his nostalgically romantic side and his profoundly visionary modernity. For the first time on CD, this recording series presents all 9 quartets in the award-winning young Nightingale String Quartet's distinctly dramatic interpretation based on the revised Rued Langgaard Edition.

Although Finland's extraordinary Jean Sibelius may be foremost among Nordic composers, his contemporary, Carl Nielsen – best known for six highly original symphonies and simple popular songs – holds an honored place as Denmark's foremost post-Romantic musical ambassador, and has found considerable acclaim amongst musicians and audiences alike. A painter by profession, Nielsen's father spent as much or more energy on his secondary activities as a violinist, and it was in this way that young Carl received his first musical instruction. At 14 Carl auditioned for a position with a military wind ensemble at Odense (he was hired as a bugler, despite his lack of formal training on the instrument). During a visit to Copenhagen ……….

From Allmusic

Although Finland's extraordinary Jean Sibelius may be foremost among Nordic composers, his contemporary, Carl Nielsen – best known for six highly original symphonies and simple popular songs – holds an honored place as Denmark's foremost post-Romantic musical ambassador, and has found considerable acclaim amongst musicians and audiences alike. A painter by profession, Nielsen's father spent as much or more energy on his secondary activities as a violinist, and it was in this way that young Carl received his first musical instruction. At 14 Carl auditioned for a position with a military wind ensemble at Odense (he was hired as a bugler, despite his lack of formal training on the instrument). During a visit to Copenhagen ……….

From Allmusic

Dreamers' Circus - Second Movement (2015) {GO' Danish Folk Music GO0315CD}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 262 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 110 Mb
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© 2015 GO' Danish Folk Music | GO0315CD
Folk / Nordic Folk

The Danish trio (Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violin; Ale Carr, cittern; Nikolaj Busk, piano & accordion) returns with their second recording of cross-genre folk music. Guests include a folk choir and The Danish String Quartet. The artists say: "We met by chance one night during a folk festival in Copenhagen. Ale and Rune were standing in the corner of a pub jamming some folk tunes. Nikolaj just came in, sat at the piano and began to play along. The three of us ended up playing together all through the night. That was in 2009. Six months after we met, Rune held his debut concert at the Royal Danish Academy of Music.

This CPO disc contains four pieces by Sofia Gubaidulina, a Russian-Tartar composer of singularly original and individualistic music. These are her three string quartets written up to 1993, and her "String Trio". Performances are given by The Danish Quartet, the ensemble of Tim Frederiksen (violin I), Arne Balk-Moeller (violin II), Claus Myrup (viola), and Henrik Brendstrup (cello). Sofia Gubaidulina's works for string quartet and string trio have always seemed to me to lie at the outskirts of her oeuvre, even though they contain the elements common to all her work that we have come to love. This is perhaps because of their intensity, a single-minded dedication to certain mystical principles without the variety of longer or larger works.

In one of my earlier reviews of recordings of Nørgård’s music, I remarked that his musical and stylistic progress is far from a straight line. This composer is used to surprising even his staunchest admirers with unexpected twists and turns. This is certainly valid when considering his string quartets - ten at the time of writing. It may be worth reminding ourselves that his first essays in the genre are available on Kontrapunkt 32015 played by the Kontra Quartet. It’s a disc still worth looking out for.

Per Nørgård - String Quartets 7-10
FLAC + CUE + Cover, No Log | 302 MB | RS
Label: Dacapo | Catalog: 8.226059 | Year: 2008

The musicians can play each in their own keys or their own rhythms, but for the listener who encounters the totality what is manifested is a quivering figure, an oscillating but quite clear gesture, in descending or ascending motion or arches. - Liner notes

The Danish composer Anders Koppel (b. 1947) has one foot firmly planted in the European classical music tradition, and the other in world music, rock and jazz. On this album the two worlds meet when the Sjælland String Quartet are joined by Koppel’s son, the jazz icon Benjamin Koppel. The composer has tailored his quintet to the distinctive mixture of the classical string quartet and the custom-built mezzo saxophone, which with this recording can be heard for the first time ever on CD.