Ravinia 2023 Issue 3

CAROLINE BITTENCOURT GOOD FOLK The Danish String Quartet plays with generational spirit BY KYLE MACMILLAN In the world of chamber music, the country has produced several notable groups, including the Kontra Quartet, named for its first violinist, Hungar- ian-born virtuoso Anton Kontra. It formed in 1973 and toured worldwide for more than 25 years. Among the most famous of to- day’s ensembles is one whose name enthusiastically trumpets its country of origin—the Danish String Quartet, which is marking its 20th anniversary during the 2022–23 season. Early in its history, it was already being cited DESPITE BEING A TINY COUNTRY with a population smaller than that of the Chicago metropolitan area, Denmark has nonetheless long exerted an outsized impact on classical music. Think Carl Nielsen, the country’s best- known composer, whose works are regularly performed internationally, especially his six distinctive symphonies. as one of the world’s top quartets, and that praise has only solidified as the group has matured, including its selection as the 2020 Ensemble of the Year by Musical America . The Danish Quartet will make its second visit to Ravinia on July 27 as part of a five-concert American tour that also takes it to another presti- gious summer series, the Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts, as well as three smaller venues. The four original members of the quartet, three of whom still remain, met when they were in their mid- teens at a summer music camp in the Danish countryside, spending as much time playing soccer as chamber music and quickly becoming close friends. In 2001, Tim Frederiksen, a professor at the Royal Danish Acad- emy whom DSQ violinist Frederik Øland called the “godfather of Danish chamber music,” learned of the bud- ding ensemble and offered to coach the four players. They quickly took him up on his offer and worked with him intensively. “He meant a lot to us, especially in the early years of our career,” Øland said. In 2002, the group made its pro- fessional debut at the Copenhagen Summer Festival on a hot July eve- ning, with the players taking to heart Frederiksen’s guidance to walk briskly on stage with an air of self-confidence. “That was a turning point,” said violinist Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen. “We had been working together for quite some time and he got us this gig. Everything was leading up to that one event, and it was packed hall. A really crazy atmosphere in the air.” Word quickly spread about the quartet, and the musicians, still in their teens, found themselves show- ered with booking offers. “We had no idea what was coming for us at that time,” Sørensen said. “We enjoyed playing together and we had fun do- ing it. Then suddenly, we almost had a career even before we started at the [Royal] Academy of Music. So, all it went really fast at the beginning.” According to Øland, one of the biggest challenges for the young quar- tet was picking a name. “Do you go with something Greek?” he said. “Do you go with a composer? We went through a lot of different names, and we just couldn’t it figure out.” But then the members worked up the courage to ask Frederiksen if they could take over the Danish Quartet name. Four RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 17 – JULY 30, 2023 12