The Danish String Quartet (DSQ), widely regarded as being in the uppermost echelon of the world’s active quartets, has graced Santa Barbara stages often enough in the past several years to be considered an institution-in-the-making. And far from ever having worn out its welcome, the DSQ seems to have baked in a renewable enthusiasm in town.
Good news again greets us with DSQ’s appearance, hosted by UCSB Arts & Lectures at Campbell Hall on Friday, January 24. In its now 20 years as a group, DSQ has embodied a refreshing and shifting programming agenda, which Santa Barbara audiences have witnessed first-hand. Its four-year cycle of Schubert-based programs called Doppelgänger — including newly commissioned works — closed out last season.
This time around, the quartet program will be more of an eclectic tapestry of old and new music, with Stravinsky, Mozart, and Shostakovich mixing it up with the group’s penchant for Scandinavian folk-based material as heard on their acclaimed latest album, Keel Road. We checked in with DSQ violist Asbjørn Nørgaard for an update.
