Danish String Quartet

Frederik Øland, Violin
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, Violin
Asbjørn Nørgaard, Viola
Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, Cello

First prize winner of the 2009 London International String Quartet Competition, the Danish String Quartet – formerly known as the Young Danish String Quartet, made its debut in the Copenhagen Summer Festival in 2002.  In the course of a remarkably short time the quartet drew attention to itself for its highly committed musicianship and enthralling style, and the ensemble quickly became the most promising news in the classical music world in Denmark.  After winning the Danish Radio P2 Chamber Music Competition in 2004 the quartet’s good name was established in Denmark, and the four young musicians have since been frequent guests in Danish festivals, music societies and international chamber music venues.

The Danish String Quartet has participated in numerous chamber music competitions with great success.  After winning the P2 competition as the youngest winners ever, they proceeded to win first prize and distinguished awards in several international competitions.

In 2006 the Danish Radio made the Danish String Quartet ‘Artist in Residence’ and this led to solo performances with the DR Symphony Orchestra and the Danish Radio Sinfonietta playing works by Elgar and O.A. Thommesen.  This also gave the quartet the opportunity to record all of Carl Nielsen’s string quartets in the Danish Radio Concert Hall.  The recordings were released on the Dacapo label in 2007 and 2008 and were hailed by the critics as extremely successful recordings.

The Danish String Quartet’s main teacher and mentor has always been Professor Tim Frederiksen and in addition the quartet has participated in masterclasses and received instruction from the Tokyo and Emerson Quartets, Alasdair Tait, Paul Katz, Hugh Maguire, Levon Chilingirian, Are Sandbakken, Mats Zetterquist and Jan-Erik Gustafsson.

The Danish String Quartet has worked with musicians like Andreas Brantelid, Radovan Vladkovic, James Galway, Anne Øland, Jens Elvekjær, Søren Rastogi, Rikke Sandberg, Tanja Zapolski, Heidi Kruse and Samuel Berthod.

The joy of playing, the powerful impact the quartet makes on stage and the fresh approach to well known repertoire has become a trademark for the Danish String Quartet.  These qualities have led to their success not only in Denmark.  The New York Times’ main critic let himself be carried away by the quartet’s debut concert in New York.  After their performance of Carl Nielsen’s Quartet No. 4 in F Major, he wrote “I cannot imagine a more involved performance” and he praises all four musicians for their high level performance and inviting style.