The Danish String Quartet defies traditional notions of the genre, effortlessly moving between styles while maintaining impeccable standards in chamber music making. Lauded for their authentic expression and musical communication, they make their Prague debut with works by the Czech Philharmonic’s Composer-in-Residence Bryce Dessner and Ravel, as well as their own arrangements of Nordic folk melodies.

EPSG:4326

Czech Chamber Music Society • Danish String Quartet

Rudolfinum

“Is there a string quartet on this planet that I like more?” Víkingur Ólafsson rhetorically asks. The answer, of course, is no. Formed 25 years ago at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen, the Danish String Quartet has achieved cult status, with a shelf full of awards to match. Most recently, the four “Vikings,” as they jokingly call themselves on account of their bearded looks, received the prestigious Léonie Sonning Music Prize. Their hallmarks include electrifying arrangements of Nordic folk music, yet they are equally at home in the classical and contemporary repertoire. Their Festival debut begins, fittingly for Víkingur’s programming vision, with Bach. Stravinsky’s neoclassical Suite italienne, heard here in the quartet’s own arrangement, also draws on Baroque models. But the title of the concert comes from Beethoven, who inscribed the finale of his last string quartet with a question: “Muss es sein?” (“Must it be?”) — and gave his own reply in the lively main section: “It must be!” Just like this concert.

Danish String Quartet

KKL Luzern Concert Hall

Could this be what eternity sounds like? A performance of Piano and String Quartet, a late work by the American composer Morton Feldman (1926–87), lasts some 80 minutes — yet in all that time we hear little more than delicate, endlessly resonating piano arpeggios and sustained string chords. This crystalline study in pianissimo seems to have no beginning and no end, no sense of direction — there is only surrender to the present moment of sound. Listening to it is a paradoxical experience: in its radical stillness, Feldman’s slow-motion music exerts a powerful pull. “The first 30 minutes feel a little bit slow because the piece is made of these surreal, beautiful, slow moving — or almost not moving — harmonies,” Víkingur remarks. “It’s just this way of being. The next 30 minutes go by so much faster. And the last 30 minutes, believe it or not, go by in a flash.” He was especially eager to return to this “one-of-a-kind” piece, which he last performed a decade ago. The setting will add to the magic, with the audience seated onstage, close to the five performers.

Danish String Quartet | Víkingur Ólafsson

The Grammy-nominated Danish String Quartet joins the Danish National Girls’ Choir in combining old traditions and new music. They premiere the Stanford Live co-commission by composer and Stanford alumnus David Lang, titled in wildness, a work about the relationship between humans and mother earth. The first half of the program features folksongs and new music by American and Nordic women composers.

Danish String Quartet and Danish National Girls’ Choir

Stanford University

Classical and folk join forces for a thrilling celebration of dance, in this joyfully unconventional programme masterminded and conducted by much-loved Finnish violin pioneer Pekka Kuusisto.

Beethoven, Pekka & the Dreamers’ Circus

Aberdeen Music Hall

The Queen's Hall

City Halls

It’s always a pleasure to welcome the Danish String Quartet to our stages. Over three previous appearances, they have captivated audiences with thoughtfully curated programs, peerless ensemble playing, and the unmistakable warmth and camaraderie that come from more than two decades of performing together.

New England Conservatory of Music

The Danish String Quartet celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2022-23, and the GRAMMY®- nominated quartet continues to assert its preeminence among the world’s finest string quartets. Formed when they were in their teens, they are renowned for impeccable musicianship, sophisticated artistry, exquisite clarity of ensemble, and, above all, and an unmatched ability to play as one. Performances are characterized by a rare musical spontaneity, giving audiences the sense of hearing even treasured canon repertoire as if for the first time. They exude a palpable joy in music-making that has made them one of today’s most highly acclaimed and in-demand classical quartets, performing sold-out concert halls around the world. Their inventive and intriguing programming and repertoire choices have produced critically acclaimed original projects and commissions as well as popular arrangements of Scandinavian folk music.

Albuquerque Academy

Nordic roots trio Dreamers’ Circus blends echoes of the past with the vital pulse of the present, creating magic in their evocative, vibrant arrangements and original compositions.

Dreamers’ Circus

One of the finest contemporary Scandinavian quartets will perform a program of 18th, 19th, and 20th Century works by Haydn (Quartet in G Minor, Op. 20 no 3), Stravinsky (Three Pieces for String Quartet), Turlough O’Carolan (Three Melodies), Mozart (Divertimento in F Major, K. 138 in its string quartet arrangement), and Schubert (Quartet No. 15 in G Major, D. 887).

University of Louisville

The Danish String Quartet made its debut at the Copenhagen Summer Festival in 2002. The group is known for its performances of classical music as well as its own renditions of traditional Nordic folk music. The quartet has also worked with an extensive range of contemporary Scandinavian composers.

Maverick Concert Hall

The Danish String Quartet, known for its adventurous programming and heartfelt artistry, is joined by Johannes Rostamo in an engrossing programme. Schubert’s String Quintet in C, completed just weeks before his death in 1828, is a magical work suffused with inventive brilliance and an astonishing breadth of moods. Thomas Adès’s Wreath – for Franz Schubert, a single-movement composition commissioned by the Danish String Quartet, echoes elements of Schubert’s Quintet as it explores the complexities of existence.

Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen

Events

Upcoming events

Aug 1, 2026

Danish String Quartet · Maverick Concerts

Sep 23, 2026

Danish String Quartet; Johannes Rostamo cello · Wigmore Hall

Past events

Jun 10, 2026

Czech Chamber Music Society • Danish String Quartet · Czech Philharmonic

May 15, 2026

Danish String Quartet · Lucerne Festival

Future and recently performed repertoire

Violin in String Quartet No. 15 by Schubert

Chamber Music Society of Louisville

Violin in String Quartet by Ravel

Celebrity Series of Boston

Violin in Three Pieces for String Quartet by Stravinsky

Chamber Music Society of Louisville

Violin in Winterreise by Schubert

Wigmore Hall

Violin in String Quintet by Schubert

Wigmore Hall

Violin in String Quartet No. 13 by Beethoven

Chamber Music Albuquerque

Violin in Suite italienne by Stravinsky

Lucerne Festival

Violin in String Quartet No. 3 by Shostakovich

Chamber Music Albuquerque

Violin in Divertimento in F Major by Mozart

Chamber Music Society of Louisville

Violin in Symphony No. 7 by Beethoven

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Violin in String Quartet in F major by Ravel

Czech Philharmonic

Violin in String Quartet in F Major by Beethoven

Lucerne Festival

Violin in Three Melodies by

Chamber Music Society of Louisville

Violin in Contrapunctus XIV from The Art of Fugue for String Quartet by Bach

Lucerne Festival

Violin in String Quartet No. 16 by Beethoven

Maverick Concerts

Violin in String Quartet in G Minor by Haydn

Chamber Music Society of Louisville

Violin in Wreath by Adès

Wigmore Hall

Violin in String Quartet No. 2 by Schnittke

Chamber Music Albuquerque

Violin in Piano and String Quartet by Feldman

Lucerne Festival

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