One after the other, four lithe young men sporting natty Scandinavian-type beards bounded on to the stage. The members of the Danish String Quartet, they were there to launch the City of London Festival, which they proceeded to do with panache. The only conventional item in their programme was Beethoven’s String Quartet, op. 74 (The Harp), which certainly served to establish their credentials as an ensemble of exceptional accomplishment. Presenting the Second String Quartet, op. 5 in F minor, by their compatriot Carl Nielsen, they made an eloquent case for it, relishing its affecting lyricism and rugged stylistic innovations alike. Rather as Beethoven fashioned original structures from...
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