Discography

‘A most promising start to an essential, richly recorded survey’, observed Gramophone about the first volume of Vagn Holmboe’s complete string quartets by the Nightingale String Quartet. In this, the second instalment, the Nightingales continues convincingly with energetic, precise, yet lively and poetic interpretations of the Holmboe quartets, which stand amongst the most significant contributions to the genre in the 20th century.

The international award winning Nightingale String Quartet now embark on a mammoth project to record the complete string quartets of Vagn Holmboe (1909-96). Holmboe’s music is dynamic, organic and alive, his musical language is rooted in the Nordic landscape but also reveals his keen interest in the folk music of Eastern Europe.

“Volume One” of his complete string quartets promises to deliver yet another stunning chamber recording from the first ever ensemble to be awarded Gramophone Magazine Young Artist of the Year.

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.