The GRAMMY^®-nominated Danish String Quartet continue to assert their preeminence among the world’s finest string quartets. Celebrated for their “intense blend, extreme dynamic variation (in which they seem glued together), perfect intonation even on harmonics, and constant vitality and flow” (Gramophone) and renowned for the palpable joy they exude in music-making, the Danish String Quartet has become one of today’s most in-demand classical quartets, performing to sold-out concert halls around the world.

The Quartet’s inventive and intriguing programming and repertoire choices have produced critically acclaimed original projects and commissions as well as sophisticated arrangements of traditional folk tunes. In August 2024, the Quartet released their long-awaited third album of folk-inspired traditional and original tunes, Keel Road, on ECM. Comprising 14 tracks, all arranged by the Danish String Quartet, Keel Road is a retracing of musical pathways across the North Sea, from Denmark and Norway to the Faroe Islands, England, and Ireland. The release of Keel Road marked the Quartet’s tenth anniversary of exploring Scandinavian folk traditions, beginning with their 2014 album Wood Works and followed by Last Leaf (ECM 2017); both Last Leaf and Keel Road were chosen as one of the top classical albums of the year by NPR and The New York Times.  

With a growing audience in North America, they embark on three tours this season that bring them to 22 cities in the US and Canada. They perform at prestigious series including Washington Performing Arts, San Francisco Performances and UC Santa Barbara Arts & Lectures in California, Carnegie Hall in New York, The University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, Celebrity Series of Boston, and the Schubert Club in St. Paul Minnesota. Outside the US, they perform this season in Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Italy and Brazil.

The Danish Quartet’s April US Tour in 2026 features longtime collaborator, the Danish National Girls’ Choir in their first coast-to-coast tour together. Violist Asbjørn Nørgaard describes the choir as highly original, with “an almost tangible power” that makes them the perfect partner for the bold visions of the Quartet. The wide-ranging program includes a new co-commissioned work by David Lang, in wildness, to receive its U.S. premiere on April 10 at the University of California Santa Barbara and its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall on April 17. The program also includes music by Caroline Shaw, Lotta Wennäkoski and Schubert as well as traditional and original tunes arranged by the Quartet. The Danish String Quartet also plan two more tours in November 2025 and February 2026. Showcasing their dynamic artistry and inventive programming, the Quartet present a rich mix of classical masterworks—including pieces by Beethoven, Ravel and Stravinsky, among others—paired with their own original compositions and arrangements (from Keel Road and elsewhere).

The final disc in the Quartet’s five-disc PRISM series on ECM was released to great acclaim in April 2023, and The New York Times dubbed the collection “essential listening.” PRISM explores the symbiotic musical and contextual relationships between Bach fugues, Beethoven string quartets, and works by Shostakovich, Schnittke, Bartók, Mendelssohn, and Webern. The Quartet’s discography also reflects the ensemble’s special affinity for Scandinavian composers, with the complete quartets of Carl Nielsen (Dacapo, 2007 and 2008) and Adès, Nørgård & Abrahamsen (their debut on ECM in 2016). 

The Quartet takes an active role in reaching new audiences through special projects.  In 2007, they established the DSQ Festival, which takes place in intimate and informal settings in Copenhagen. In 2016, they inaugurated a concert series, Series of Four, in which they both perform and invite colleagues to appear.   They have been the recipient of many awards and appointments, including Musical America’s 2020 Ensemble of the Year; the Borletti-Buitoni Trust; BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist; and the Bowers Program (formerly CMS Two). In 2011, the Quartet were awarded the Carl Nielsen Prize, the highest cultural honor in Denmark, and in June 2025, the Léonie Sonning Music Prize – the first ensemble to receive what is one of the most prestigious awards in classical music (including a gift equivalent to approximately $150,000 USD).

The Danish Quartet recently celebrated their 20^th Anniversary in 2024, having formed when violinists Frederik Øland and Rune Tonsgaard Sørenson and violist Asbjørn Nørgaard were teenagers under the mentorship of Tim Frederiksen of Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Academy of Music.  In 2008, the three Danes were joined by Norwegian cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin. www.danishquartet.com. 

“...these [PRISM] releases must qualify as some of the most essential listening of the past decade. No recording could quite capture what makes the Danish so special in concert, could make indelible the fleeting aura of rapt, intense concentration that settles in a hall when they are at their best. But the five “Prism” releases come close...” 
— David Allen, The New York Times 

“What they do know is how to be an exceptional quartet, whatever repertory they play.” 
— Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times 

 “But nothing could have truly prepared me for the tornado of energy that the quartet unleashed with its performance of Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14, “Death and the Maiden.”… So what is it about them that prompts such acclaim? …For my part, I’ve got to give it to two things: their commitment to connecting and contextualizing music from all areas of the concert music tradition and beyond, and the unbridled joy they take in playing with one another.”
— A.Z. Madonna, Boston Globe  

“The Danish String Quartet stand out: not because they’re shinier or plusher or pushier than the rest, but because of their nimble charisma, stylish repertoire and the way their light and grainy shading can turn on a dime.”
— Kate Molleson,The Guardian 

“They could be grounded in their tone or mystical. They allowed time to stand still, and they could assume the pose of excitingly aggressive rockers. They did it all.”
— Mark Swed, The Los Angeles Times 

“The Danish are remarkable, as ever – capable of intense blend, extreme dynamic variation (in which they seem glued together), perfect intonation even on harmonics, and constant vitality and flow.” 
— Andrew Mellor, Gramophone 

"This is one of the best quartets before the public today."
— Robert Battey, The Washington Post