Quatuor Danel
Marc Danel, violin | Gilles Millet, violin | Vlad Bogdanas, viola | Yovan Markovitch, cello
“...the Quatuor Danel plays with warmth and conviction.”
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The Quatuor Danel has been at the forefront of the European music scene for decades and is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022. Anniversary festivities include major performances in Paris and Amsterdam together with longtime collaborators Leif Ove Andsnes, François Frédéric Guy, Clemens Hagen, and Pascal Morague. Additional touring activities this season include performances in Ireland, Finland, Denmark, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, as well as longer tours in Japan, Taiwan, and North America.
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The Quatuor Danel is known for its bold, concentrated interpretations as well as for its polished, expansive sound and mesmerizing stage presence.
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The Quatuor Danel was the first ensemble to record all 17 of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's stunning string quartets, single-handedly leading the revival of this Polish Jewish composer's music, long silenced due to its "degenerate" designation by the Nazi regime. The Danel has performed the complete Weinberg cycle frequently including in Washington, D.C., London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Tokyo.
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At the very heart of the Quatuor Danel’s work lies their ambassadorship for young musicians in general and string quartets in particular. As the artist-in-residence at the University of Manchester (England) since 2005, the Quartet works closely with students, with teaching and master classes as a fundamental part of their activities.
The Quatuor Danel has been at the forefront of the international classical music scene for decades with their bold, vibrant, and concentrated performance style, and celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022. The Danel’s 2023-24 North American tour included concerts for Aspect Chamber Music Series, Peoples’ Symphony Concerts, Music Toronto, Chamber Music in Oklahoma, and the McGill International String Quartet Academy. Additional touring activities this season include performances in France, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
The Danel is known for its deeply personal interpretations of the string quartet cycles of Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Shostakovich, and Weinberg. Its lively and fresh vision of traditional quartet repertoire has won the Danel lavish praise from both the public and the press. In addition, Russian composers have a vital place in the Danel’s repertoire: the Quartet has regularly championed the string quartets of Shostakovich, and its very recent release of the complete quartet cycle which was recorded at the Gewandhaus Leipzig has already won a range of prizes and has been recognized as the quartet’s next benchmark recording.
Uniquely among string quartets, the Danel has worked closely with both the late Valentin Berlinsky formerly of the Borodin Quartet as well as Irina Shostakovich to refine the deeply personal interpretations of Russian music for which the Quartet is revered in Europe. The Danel’s long personal relationship and exceptionally close work with Dmitri Shostakovich’s widow Irina informed these performances in a specific and profoundly personal way, offering a very rarely accessed glimpse into Shostakovich’s genius.
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The Quatuor Danel was the first quartet ever to record the complete and previously unknown quartet oeuvre of Mieczysław Weinberg, the neglected contemporary of Shostakovich, for the CD label CPO. The Quartet will continue to offer this breathtakingly beautiful and too little known repertoire in coming seasons. In addition, they have collaborated with major contemporary composers such as Wolfgang Rihm, Helmutt Lachenmann, Sofia Gubaidulina, Pascal Dusapin, and the stars of the younger generation including Jörg Widmann and Bruno Mantovani.
Most recent recording projects consist of the three Tchaikovsky quartets, the Quartet and Piano Quintet by Franck with pianist Paavali Jumppanen, and the earlier mentioned Shostakovich String Quartet Cycle for the label Accentus. The Danel’s next CD release will feature a Prokoviev overview to be released in early 2025. Following that release, the Quartet will concentrate, again in collaboration with Gewandhaus Leipzig and Accentus, on a CD-release of the complete Beethoven String Quartet cycle in 2027.
At the very heart of the Quatuor Danel’s work lies its ambassadorship for young musicians in general and string quartets in particular. As the artist-in-residence at the University of Manchester (United Kingdom) since 2005, the Quartet works closely with students, with teaching and master classes as a fundamental part of their activities.
August 2024 – Please do not edit without permission.
Videos
Programs & Repertoire
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PROGRAM I - OPUS POSTHUMOUS
Mieczysław Weinberg: String Quartet No. 3 in D minor, Op. 14
Rosita Piritore: String Quartet
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Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810 “Death and the Maiden”
PROGRAM II - TESTAMENTDmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 15 in E-flat minor, Op. 144
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Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887
PROGRAM III - INCIDENTAL MUSICSergei Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 1 in B minor, Op. 50
Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, D. 804 “Rosamunde”
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Franz Schubert: String Quartet No. 12 in C minor, D. 703 “Quartettsatz”
Sergei Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 2 in F major, Op. 92 -
PROGRAM I – THE BLUE WINDOWS
Maurice Ravel: String Quartet
Camden Reeves: String Quartet No. 5, “The Blue Windows”
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Benjamin Britten: String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 25Britten’s Quartet No. 1, written at the time when the composer was living in America, and Reeves' Quartet No. 5, inspired by Chagall's "America Windows", are paired with Ravel's only addition to the genre. Ravel would have been 150 years old in 2025.
PROGRAM II – BEETHOVEN AND HIS SUCCESSORS
Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13
Benjamin Britten: String Quartet No. 3 in G major, Op. 94
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Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat minor, Op. 138
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Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet in A minor, Op. 1322025 marks 50 years since Britten wrote his third quartet and 200 years since Beethoven completed his Opus 132, a work that highly influenced Mendelssohn’s Opus 13, written just a few years later. 2025 also marks the 50th anniversary of Shostakovich’s death.
SHOSTAKOVICH 2025
A cycle of 3 concerts with 6 pieces by Shostakovich, 2 by Prokofiev and 1 by Weinberg. Each program can also be presented separately.FROM THE CRADLE TO THE GRAVE
Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49
Sergei Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 1 in B minor, Op. 50
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Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 15 in E-flat minor, Op. 144Shostakovich wrote his first quartet just after the birth of his son and his last one a year before his death.
FOLK TUNES INSPIRATION
Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 4 in D major, Op. 83
Sergei Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 2 in F major, Op. 92
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Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 9 in E-flat major, Op. 117Shostakovich’s 4th and 9th quartets are inspired by klezmer themes, while Prokofiev's 2nd quartet is based on Kabardino-Balkar folk themes.
FRIENDSHIP
Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 10 in A-flat major, Op. 118
Mieczysław Weinberg: String Quartet No. 6 in E minor, Op. 35
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Dmitri Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 92
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Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57Shostakovich's 10th quartet is dedicated to Weinberg, while his 5th quartet and Piano Quintet are both dedicated to the Borodin Quartet who have been our mentors for the interpretation of Shostakovich.
Projects
