Danish String Quartet embraces classical works with energy and expressivity
Celebrated for its warmth, spontaneity, and unmatched ability to play as one, the Grammy-nominated Danish String Quartet comes to the Moss Arts Center on Friday, Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m. to perform quartets from Mozart and Schubert, along with a selection of traditional folk music arranged by the ensemble.
The performance will be held in the center’s Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, located within the Street and Davis Performance Hall at 190 Alumni Mall.
Audience members raved about the Danish String Quartet‘s streamed “HomeStage” performance presented by the Moss Arts Center in 2020, underscoring that even treasured canon repertoire sounds new when performed by the ensemble. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary during its 2022-23 season, the ensemble is in demand on concert stages around the world.
Featuring Frederik Øland (violin), Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (violin), Asbjørn Nørgaard (viola), and Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin (cello), the Danish String Quartet is known for impeccable musicianship, sophisticated artistry, exquisite clarity of ensemble, and an expressivity inextricably bound to its music. The musicians' inventive and intriguing programming and repertoire choices have produced critically acclaimed original projects and commissions as well as popular arrangements of Scandinavian and other folk music.
As David Finckel, co-artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, described, “The quartet brought a love and reverence and magic and selfless dedication — it was so powerful and so intense, you stopped judging and gave yourself over.”
For its Moss in-person debut, the quartet will perform Mozart’s String Quartet No. 16 in E flat major, K. 428; Schubert’s gentle String Quartet in A minor, D. 804; “Rosamunde;” and a rich selection of traditional folk music featuring pieces from two of the ensemble’s recordings — “Wood Works,” a collection of the group’s favorite melodies from Nordic folk music, and “Last Leaf,” which took its initial inspiration from an unusual Christmas hymn, “Now Found Is the Fairest of Roses,” first published in 1732 by Danish theologian and poet H.A. Brorson.
This performance is one of 28 concerts the ensemble will perform in North America this season over the course of three tours. Additionally, the quartet is the artist-in-residence at London's Wigmore Hall.
The Danish String Quartet has received numerous citations and prizes, including first prize in the Vagn Holmboe String Quartet Competition and the Charles Hennen International Chamber Music Competition in the Netherlands as well as the audience prize at the Trondheim International String Quartet Competition in 2005. In 2009, the Danish String Quartet won first prize in the 11th London International String Quartet Competition, now known as the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.
This performance is supported in part by gifts from Ms. Deborah L. Brown and Joseph A. Hopkins and Linda W. Hopkins.
Related engagement events
Following the performance, join the Danish String Quartet for an open discussion about the evening’s program and its work as an ensemble. The ensemble also will invite Virginia Tech string students to observe its rehearsal in advance of the performance.
Ticket information
Tickets for the performance are $25-$55 for general public and $10 for students and youth 18 and under. Tickets can be purchased online; at the Moss Arts Center's box office, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300 during box office hours.
Paid parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street. Virginia Tech faculty and staff possessing a valid Virginia Tech parking permit can enter and exit the garage free of charge. Virginia Tech has also partnered with ParkMobile to provide a convenient, contactless electronic payment option for parking, which may be used at any parking meter, campus parking space, or lot with standard F/S, C/G, or R parking.
If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Jamie Wiggert at least 10 days prior to the event at 540-231-5300 or email wiggertj@vt.edu during regular business hours.
