2024 Concerts
April 18 - Engegård Quartet
April 18 - Engegård Quartet
Our first concert this year will be the Engegård Quartet, one of Norway’s most sought after ensembles, on April 18 . Opening with one of Mozart's most beautiful quartets, this programme promises to be a truly exciting start to our season.
Programme
W.A.Mozart: String Quartet KV465 'Dissonance'
Bela Bartok: String Quartet no.3
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Maja Ratkje: A Tale of Lead and Light
Fanny Mendelssohn: String Quartet in E-flat Major, H.277
Formed under the midnight sun in Lofoten in 2005, the Engegård Quartet has rapidly become one of Norway’s most sought after ensembles. Their bold, fresh interpretations of the classical repertoire combined with a deep attachment to their Scandinavian roots has attracted international acclaim, and inspired some innovative partnerships and programming. The quartet’s debut CD was praised as ‘breath-taking’ in The Strad, while their second release won Pizzicato magazine’s ‘Supersonic Award’. Their CD of works by Grieg, Sibelius and Olav Anton Thommessen was praised by Tully Potter in Music Web International as ‘what Grieg lovers have been waiting for’. Recent CD releases include Mozart’s ‘Prussian Quartets’ and the complete string quartets of Schumann.
The Engegård Quartet has a busy concert schedule throughout Scandinavia and further afield. They have performed in some of Europe’s finest venues including the Mozarteum in Salzburg and Prague’s Rudolfinum, and have travelled to South America for concerts in Bogotá and Sao Paolo. Festival performances include the Delft Chamber Music Festival, SoNoRo Festival in Bucharest, and Heidelberg’s Streichquartettfest. Members of the quartet are also deeply involved in bringing superb chamber music to Norway – Arvid Engegård as Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Lofoten International Chamber Music Festival, and several quartet members are deeply involved with Oslo Quartet Series.
The Engegård Quartet has had the honour to work with (among others) András Schiff, Leif Ove Andsnes, Christian Ihle Hadland, and Emma Johnson. They also love to collaborate with colleagues from different musical traditions, including a folk/classical fusion with Hardanger fiddler Nils Økland, a collaboration with jazz-violinist Ola Kvernberg, and a programme of Ibsen and late Beethoven with actor Bjørn Sundquist. The Engegård Quartet’s own ‘1-2-3 festival’ has proven immensely popular and is now a regular event each fall.
The Engegård Quartet is supported by the Norwegian Arts Council.