Molto adagio: the Danish Quartet perform Beethoven op.132

Beethoven prefaced the third movement of String Quartet no.15 with Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der lidischen Tonart: ‘A holy song of thanksgiving to the Deity by one who has recovered, in the Lydian mode’. The movement has a calm, reflective character and was premiered near the end of the composer’s life in 1825.

The Danish Quartet encountered Beethoven’s late string quartets while the members were still young. ’We had to admit that this late Beethoven quartet had a different flavour from that of most other music we had encountered. It felt as if it had fallen down from outer space onto our music stands, discon­nected from music history and tradition.’

This performance was recorded live at DSQ Festival 2018 ’The Copenhagen Cycle’. Beethoven’s String Quartet no.15 features on the Danish Quartet’s latest album Prism IV, out now on ECM Records.