ABRAHAMSEN: String Quartet No. 1 (Ten Preludes)
MENDELSSOHN: String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132
You will say you heard them here first. The Danish String Quartet, impossibly young and preternaturally gifted, has roused the classical music world like a gust of crisp Scandinavian air. Recognized for performances of incredible focus, uncanny ensemble cohesion, and an easy, natural virtuosity, the quartet won first prize in the London International String Quartet Competition in 2009. This season, it joins the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's CMS Two program, a prestigious incubator for emerging ensembles. In its Cal Performances debut, the quartet plays Beethoven's String Quartet No. 15, praised by the New York Times as "one of the most powerful renditions...I've heard live or on a recording."