Danish String Quartet

The Danish String Quartet—GRAMMY®-nominated and somehow still radiating the vibe of four friends who wandered onstage and decided to casually redefine chamber music—is back by popular demand. The ensemble has spent two decades building a reputation for sold-out halls, adventurous programming, and a discography that jumps effortlessly from core repertoire to their now-iconic, revelrous trilogy of folk albums. That same anything-can-happen spirit drives this program: former Princeton PhD student Gabriella Smith’s Carrot Revolution kicks things off with a wink and a manifesto (yes, the carrot—via a misattributed nod to Paul Cézanne—is doing the overthrowing), splicing together echoes of J.S. Bach, Pérotin, and centuries of musical history into something gloriously uncontained. Then comes Dmitri Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 14—lean, late, and quietly devastating, like a confession you weren’t meant to overhear. And just when things threaten to get too serious, the quartet pulls the rug out (or maybe lays down a dance floor) with their signature Nordic folk arrangements, cracking the concert hall open and letting the outside world rush in. Expect virtuosity without pretense, tradition with a raised eyebrow, and a night celebrating endless possibility.

Gabriella Smith

Carrot Revolution

Shostakovich

String Quartet No. 14 in F-sharp Major, Op. 142

Arr. Danish String Quartet

Nordic Folk Music