The Danish Quartet at the Schermerhorn
Trust, friendship, and the magic of live chamber music were recurring themes in my interview with Frederik Øland of the Danish String Quartet, and I expected to witness nothing less in the group’s Schermerhorn debut on Monday, November 18th. I arrived at the symphony center expecting to hear a beautifully executed performance by a world-class quartet. I left two hours later feeling like I had witnessed so much more. The performance felt less like a formal event and more like four close friends sharing music with a genuine hope of connecting with everyone in the room. The Danish String Quartet’s performance brought infectious joy through expert musicianship. They opened with Entr’acte by American composer Caroline Shaw, which flowed without pause into movement III (Andante) of String Quartet Op. 77, No. 2 by Joseph Haydn. This striking juxtaposition of music composed in 2011 and 1799 respectively let Danish firmly establish their interpretive and technical prowess. While it drew its inspiration from the Haydn work, the Shaw is abstract and textural—at crucial moments, the chords dissolve when the players intentionally let their bows skate over the strings without letting a note speak. The harmonies pulse apprehensively, the sustain through the ends ofRead More
