Danish String Quartet Receives Grammy Nomination for PRISM I

The Danish String Quartet, lauded by critics, presenters, and audiences internationally for their unparalleled musical mastery and allure, has today received their first Grammy Award nomination, for their latest recording, PRISM I. This is the first in a series of five albums in which the DSQ present one of Beethoven's late string quartets in the context of a related fugue by J.S. Bach as well as a linked masterwork from the modern quartet literature. Prism I comprises the first of Beethoven's late quartets, his grandly life-affirming Op. 127 in E-flat Major, alongside Bach's luminous fugue in the same key (arranged by Mozart) and Dmitri Shostakovich's final string quartet, No. 15 in E-flat minor, a haunted and haunting sequence of six adagios.

"A beam of music is split through Beethoven's prism. Inevitably, we base our work on what we know, as individuals and as a group, but the important thing to us as musicians is that these connections be experienced widely on an intuitive level. We hope the listener will join us in the wonder of these beams of music that travel all the way from Bach through Beethoven as far as to our own times." -DSQ liner note in the CD booklet of Prism I

The 61st Grammy Awards presentation will be held on February 10th, 2019 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

"The performances are beautiful, with the quartet shifting effortlessly from smooth, almost glassy textures to violent paroxysms. The Bach fugue that opens the program (Mozart's arrangement is used, which works well with the overall concept) sets a meditative space, and the Shostakovich, edgy and violent, and the Beethoven, mysteriously lyrical, form a compelling pair. Sample the Beethoven slow movement to hear the silent, spacious acoustic treatment given the Reitstadel Neumarkt by the ECM engineering staff, who have outdone themselves here. One awaits with pleasure future releases in the series." James Manheim - All Music - October 2018

"These players perform Bach's Fugue BWV 876 with intelligence and sophistication, their relaxed, intuitive approach to texture, sonority and phrasing allowing contrapuntal transparency. Their powerfully characterized account of Beethoven's op.127 focuses on the slow movement's moving variations, expressively realized, but their first movement is pleasingly paced, with notation scrupulously observed and sonorities skillfully blended, and they invest the jaunty scherzo with suitably rhythmic dynamism. [...] The recording is well balanced, the acoustic providing both ambience and intimacy." Robin Stowell - The Strad, November 2018

"It feels like a controlled discharge of accumulated emotional energy, and while the playing is exquisitely refined...this performance never loses its sense of rhythmic danger...thought-provoking, and often startlingly beautiful." Richard Bratby - Gramophone, November 2018

Future PRISM recordings feature works of Schnittke, Bartók, Mendelssohn, and Webern, in addition to the brilliantly curated Bach and Beethoven pairings. Previous ECM Recordings have included Last Leaf, a stunning collection of self-arranged folk music from the Nordic traditions, and a sophisticated program of contemporary worksby Thomas Adès, Per Nørgård, and Hans Abrahamsen.

In addition to their rigorous performance agenda in Europe, the Danish String Quartet's demand in North America results in multiple extensive tours throughout the United States and Canada each season. In spring 2019, the Quartet returns to North America for eleven concert dates throughout the West Coast, including three performances at La Jolla Music Society, which initiates the first of a three-year residency.

Friday, February 8, 2019 at 8PM
La Jolla Music Society - The Auditorium at TSRI
HAYDN String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 1, No. 1 "La Chasse"
MOZART String Quartet K. 458 "The Hunt"
WIDMANN Jagdquartett (Hunt Quartet)
NIELSEN String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13

Saturday, February 9, 2019 at 8PM
La Jolla Music Society - The Auditorium at TSRI
arr. DSQ Traditional Nordic Folk Music

Sunday, February 10, 2019 at 3PM
La Jolla Music Society - basileIE Gallery
arr. DSQ Traditional Nordic Folk Music

Tuesday, February 12, 2019 at 7PM
University of California Santa Barbara - Arts & Lectures
arr. DSQ Traditional Nordic Folk Music

Wednesday, February 13, 2019 at 7PM
University of California Santa Barbara - Arts & Lectures
HAYDN String Quartet in C Major, op. 20, no. 2
ABRAHAMSEN String Quartet No. 1 ("10 Preludes")
NIELSEN String Quartet No. 3, op. 14

Sunday, February 17, 2019 at 3PM
University of California Berkeley - Cal Performances
HAYDN Quartet in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2
WEBERN Quartet (1905)
BEETHOVEN Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135

Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 7:30PM
Chamber Music Society of Logan - Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall
BEETHOVEN String Quartet in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4
arr. DSQ Traditional Nordic Folk Music
BEETHOVEN String Quartet Op. 74 "Harp"

Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at 7:30PM
Brigham Young University - BYU Arts
BEETHOVEN String Quartet in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4
arr. DSQ Traditional Nordic Folk Music
BEETHOVEN String Quartet Op. 74 "Harp"

Thursday, February 21, 2019 at 7:30PM
University of Wyoming - Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts
BEETHOVEN String Quartet in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4
arr. DSQ Traditional Nordic Folk Music
BEETHOVEN String Quartet Op. 74 "Harp"

Friday, February 22, 2019 at 7PM
Los Alamos Concert Association
BEETHOVEN String Quartet in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4
arr. DSQ Traditional Nordic Folk Music
BEETHOVEN String Quartet Op. 74 "Harp"

Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 3PM
Vancouver Recital Society - Vancouver Playhouse
BEETHOVEN String Quartet in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4
arr. DSQ Traditional Nordic Folk Music
BEETHOVEN String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 74, No. 10 ("Harp")

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