Oslo String Quartet was formed in 1991 by Geir Inge Lotsberg and (violins), Are Sandbakken (viola), and Øystein Sonstad (cello). It was among the 1994 prize winners of the ''London International String Competition'', which is among the most prestigious string quartet competitions internationally. In 2007 Skalstad left the quartet in order to pursue a conducting career. Liv Hilde Klokk replaced him from the start of 2008. The quartet regularly at music festivals in Scandinavia and elsewhere, including

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

in London and Carnegie Hall in New York. The quartet was awarded Komponistforeningens pris (the Prize of the Norwegian Association of Composers) in 1998 and the Kritikerprisen (the Norwegian Critics Prize for Music) for 1999–2000. Their CD recordings of Carl Nielsen's quartets won them a 1999 "Editor's Choice" nomination in the international journal

The Gramophone ''Gramophone'' is a magazine published monthly in London, devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie who continued to edit the magazine until 1961. It was ...

, which stated "Artistically it is the finest at any price point ... totally dedicated, idiomatic performance ... full of vitality and spirit and refreshingly straightforward". Their CD recordings include music by

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

, David Monrad Johansen,

Knut Nystedt Knut Nystedt (3 September 1915 – 8 December 2014) was a Norwegian orchestral and choral composer. Early life Nystedt was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, and grew up in a Christian home where hymns and classical music were an important ...

, Klaus Egge, Fartein Valen, Johan Kvandal,

Alfred Janson Alfred Janson (10 March 1937 – 19 May 2019) was a Norwegian pianist and composer. He was born in Oslo as the son of sculptor Gunnar Janson and pianist Margrethe Gleditsch, and was brother of journalist Mette Janson. He was first married to actr ...

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...

Magnar Åm Magnar Åm (born 9 April 1952) is a Norwegian composer. Selected works *Concerto for Accordion "Tropic of Cancer" (available for listening from here ) References External links *Composer's Webpag 1952 births Norwegian composers ...

Lasse Thoresen __NOTOC__ Lasse Thoresen (born 18 October 1949) is a Norwegian composer whose works concentrate on a contemporary transformation of the folk-music traditions of many peoples, especially those of Scandinavia. Biography Thoresen was born in Oslo ...

, Ragnar Søderlind, Johan Svendsen,

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late R ...

, Ketil Stokkan, and

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sm ...

. To mark their 15 years anniversary, the quartet staged a two-week ''The Beethoven Code'' project during November 2006, where all of Beethoven's string quartets were performed over eight concerts, in the library building at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top univers ...

. An integral part of these series of concerts was a string of lectures by prominent scholars on various aspects of Beethoven's life and the impact of his music. The Beethoven Code project also included the making and screening of the film ''Brødrene Gahl og jakten på Beethovenkoden'', conceived, librettoed and directed by Sonstad, and featuring the four musicians as actors. The film depicts the spiritual and existential fight and plight of Beethoven's four illegitimate children, who use the power of Große Fuge against the dark stamitzian forces of ''bratsjismen'' (violism). Violist Magnus Boye Hansen joined the quartet in 2018.

Members

* Geir Inge Lotsberg, violin * Liv Hilde Klokk (since 2008); Per Kristian Skalstad (until 2007), violin * Magnus Boye Hansen (since 2018); Are Sandbakken (before 2018), viola * Øystein Sonstad, cello

External links

The Oslo String Quartet

The Beethoven Code

{{Authority control String quartets Norwegian classical music groups Musical groups established in 1991 1991 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Oslo