The Danish String Quartet makes its in-person debut Friday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m. with a performance that includes Purcell and Schumann quartets and the ensemble’s own Nordic folk music at the Ann and Ellen Fife Theatre within the Street and Davis Performance Hall.
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 the music.
David Finckel, co-artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, wrote about one of the quartet’s performances that the group “brought a love and reverence and magic and selfless dedication. It was so powerful and so intense, you stopped judging and gave yourself over.”
The quartet will perform Purcell’s Chaconne in G minor; Schumann’s String Quartet in A major, op. 41, no. 3; and “Folk Tunes,” which features pieces from two Danish String Quartet recordings: “Wood Works” (2014), 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.
The quartet’s Moss performance is one of over 20 performances the ensemble is giving throughout North America as part of its 2021-22 season. The tour includes debuts at the University of Georgia, Shriver Hall, and the Virginia Arts Festival; return trips to Boston’s Celebrity Series, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the Ensemble Music Society of Indianapolis, Chamber Music Cincinnati, the University of Washington’s Meany Hall; and a tour of Florida. European highlights include tours of Denmark, France, Germany, and Amsterdam.
The 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.
Following the performance, the quartet will interact with audience members in a question-and-answer session.
Quartet members will also coach Virginia Tech music students in an in-person master class in the center’s Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre on Friday, Jan. 28, from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Tickets for the performance are $25-55 for the general public and $10 for Virginia Tech students. Tickets can be purchased online; at the Moss Arts Center’s box office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300 during box office hours.
Proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test is required to attend this performance. Masks are required at all times for patrons, visitors, and staff regardless of vaccination status in all indoor spaces at the Moss Arts Center.
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.
