The Nordic String Quartet was founded in 2013 and consists of Heiðrun Petersen on violin from Faroe Islands, Mads Haugsted Hansen on violin from Denmark, Daniel Eklund on viola from Sweden and Lea Emilie Brøndal on cello from Denmark.
In November 2019, the quartet made their debut at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen under the guidance of Professor Tim Frederiksen.
In 2017, the quartet began a landmark recording project for Dacapo Records, featuring the complete string quartets of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen. The first CD of the series, which includes string quartets Nos. 1-6, was released to critical acclaim in February 2019. According to MusicWeb International, ”the playing is taut, and the sense of ensemble is great. They rise to all that Gudmundsen-Holmgreen’s music demands.”
The Nordic String Quartet is dedicated to unearthing the hidden treasures of the classical world, as demonstrated by their autumn 2019 release of Danish composer Nancy Dalberg’s previously unknown string quartets, which received widespread acclaim and attention worldwide, shining a much-deserved light on an underappreciated composer. Since then, the group has consistently enhanced and broadened their concert programme, featuring a mix of classical core repertoire and contemporary works. They have a particular love for Scandinavian composers, including Nielsen, Grieg and Sibelius, as well as contemporaries composers.
The Nordic String Quartet has received numerous awards, including the Odd fellow Music Prize, Léonie Sonning’s Talens Prize, and the Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen’s Talent Prize.
