Rued Langgaard: The String Quartets

The Nightingale String Quartet’s survey of the complete quartet works of Rued Langgaard (1893-1952) heralded the arrival of a major new ensemble and won the maverick Danish composer thousands of new fans. Poised and restrained one minute, wild and emotional the next, Langgaard’s string quartets reveal the composer’s breathtaking originality and individuality, oscillating between luscious Romanticism and outlandish experimentation. They are played with love and understanding on these multiple prize-winning recordings, here gathered together in a single release for the first time. “The Nightingale Quartet understand all these aspects: the provocative vitality, the fragile romantic sensitivity, and the striking intellectual independence behind it all.” (BBC Music Magazine) “Simply breathtaking.” (San Francisco Chronicle)