Danish String Quartet - Ades, Norgard, Abrahamsen (2016)

The Danish String Quartet, one of the most widely-acclaimed chamber groups of the present moment, makes its ECM debut playing a programme of British and Danish music: Thomas Adès’s Arcadiana (composed 1994), Per Nørgård’s Quartetto Breve (1952), and Hans Abrahamsen’s 10 Preludes (1973). The pieces were all written when the respective composers were each barely into their 20s, and have a freshness and intensity vividly conveyed in the DSQ’s interpretations. “Arcadia has no national boundaries”, writes Paul Griffiths in the liner notes. “We may feel that the precision of nuance, the warm and intelligent closeness of voices and the command of form these Danish musicians bring to Abrahamsen as to Nørgård comes from some common heritage or sympathy, and yet the same fine qualities shine through their performance of the Adès piece.”

Tracklist:

01. Arcadiana I Venezia notturna
02. Arcadiana II Das klinget so herrlich, das klinget so schon
03. Arcadiana III Auf dem Wasser zu singen
04. Arcadiana IV Et (tango mortale)
05. Arcadiana V L'Embarquement
06. Arcadiana VI O Albion
07. Arcadiana VII Lethe
08. Quartetto Breve I Lento, poco rubato
09. Quartetto Breve II Allegro risoluto
10-19. Danish String Quartet - 10 Preludes I-X