The Danish String Quartet is widely recognised as the most exciting young string quartet of the present moment, bringing new insights to contemporary composition and core classical repertoire. In parallel, they have also made surprising and impressive forays into the world of Nordic folk music.

For Last Leaf, its second ECM New Series release, the group returns to the texturally rich, emotionally resonant world of Nordic folk, from ages-old Christmas tunes to timeless funeral hymns, from medieval ballads and boat songs to dances of every sort – minuet and waltz, reel and polska. The Danish foursome made custom arrangements of this material, playing the music with the lush tone and virtuoso focus that earned the quartet such praise as “spellbinding” from Strings magazine for its ECM debut.

Following its hugely successful CD release in 2017, Last Leaf is now issued on 180g vinyl with a free download code.

“Gorgeous” – BBC Music Magazine ****

“It is wonderful to hear these superb players let their collective hair down in this collection of (mostly) Scandinavian folk tunes and original material composed in like fashion. This should warm the heart of every fan of fiddling, whether bluegrass, Celtic or Bachian.” – New York Times

“This is wonderful on every level… if you only buy one classical album in 2017- – or even this decade– this is the one to get. Emotional, uplifting, thoughtful, and precise.” – David P Weber on Amazon.co.uk

Personnel: Danish String Quartet – Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (violin, harmonium, piano, glockenspiel); Frederik Øland (violin); Asbjørn Nørgaard (viola); Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin (violoncello, double bass)