Sæverud String Quartets – Hansa Quartet

Harald Sæverud´s string quartets

When Harald Sæverud write his first string quartet, he was well over 70 years old, with a significant orchestral repertoire to his merit. His nine symphonies mark an important point in the history of Norwegian music, but the three quartets he wrote are as important and unique within the field of Norwegian music as are his symphonies and they bear comparison with the finest examples of chamber music written during the previous century.

The Hansa Quartet, since their inception seeking to combine a standard repertoire with more unusual works, with a special focus on Norwegian music, performs all three of Sæverud´s string quartets on this album – from the rivalling viola and cello in the first quartet, a drama of two love-struck gentlemen serenading the same woman, via the magnificent constructed second quartet, which undoubtedly bears the stamp of Sæverud as a symphonic composer, to the restless final quartet, his most classical string quartet.