The Danel Quartet (or Quatuor Danel) is a French/Belgian

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

established in June 1991. Known for classical, early modern and contemporary repertoire, they tour internationally and have an extensive discography. They have both recorded and performed the first complete cycle of string quartets by Mieczysław Weinberg and have undertaken a complete cycle of the quartets of Dmitri Shostakovich as well.

History

The ensemble has worked with the

Amadeus Quartet The Amadeus Quartet was a string quartet founded in 1947 and disbanded in 1987, having retained its founding members throughout its history. Noted for its smooth, sophisticated style, its seamless ensemble playing, and its sensitive interpretat ...

. For

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded ...

's complete string quartets, it worked with the

Borodin Quartet The Borodin Quartet is a string quartet that was founded in 1945 in the then Soviet Union. It is one of the world's longest-lasting string quartets, having marked its 70th-anniversary season in 2015. The quartet was one of the Soviet Union's best ...

and

Fyodor Druzhinin Fyodor Serafimovich Druzhinin, also Fedor, (; 6 April 1932 in Moscow – 1 July 2007) was a Soviet Union, Soviet viola, violist, composer and music teacher. Druzhinin studied viola at the Moscow Central Music School with Nikolai Sokolov (1944– ...

of the

Beethoven Quartet The Beethoven Quartet (, ''Strunnyĭ kvartet imeni Betkhovena'') was a string quartet founded between 1922 and 1923 by graduates of the Moscow Conservatory: violinists Dmitri Tsyganov and Vasily Shirinsky, violist Vadim Borisovsky and cellist S ...

and also with Pierre Penassou and

Walter Levin Walter Levin (December 6, 1924 – August 4, 2017) was the founder, first violinist, and guiding spirit of the LaSalle Quartet (active 1947–1987), which was known for its championing of contemporary composers, for its recordings of the Second Vi ...

, both members of the

LaSalle Quartet The LaSalle Quartet was a string quartet active from 1946 to 1987. It was founded by first violinist Walter Levin. The LaSalle's name is attributed to an apartment on LaSalle Street in Manhattan, where some of its members lived during the quarte ...

. The Danel Quartet performs the classical repertoire as well as

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

. They are specialized in the Russian repertoire. Their recordings of Shostakovich's and Weinberg's quartets (world premiere) are a reference. Since 2005, the Danel Quartet has been "Quartet in Residence" at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, and since 2016, in residence at

TivoliVredenburg The TivoliVredenburg is a contemporary music complex located in Utrecht, Netherlands. The venue consists of five halls designed acoustically for a specific music genre. Along with its hall, the venue also features an "amateur stage" and a cafe. ...

, Utrecht. From 2019 to 2021, they were in residence at the

Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...

for a complete double of Shostakovich and Weinberg's string quartets. During the Bruckner Year 2024, the Danel Quartet performed on 1 October an integral of the compositions for

, which

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

composed between 1861 and 1863 during his lessons with

Otto Kitzler Otto Kitzler (18 March 1834 – 6 September 1915) was a German cellist and conductor. He is noted for being the form and orchestration teacher of the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner from 1861 to 1863. Kitzler led the Linz theatre orchestra and ...

– including a premiere of the Six Scherzos for string quartet, WAB 209.

Members

* Marc Danel – first

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

(since 1991) * Gilles Milet – second violin (since 1991) * Vlad Bogdanas –

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

(since 2005) * Yovan Markovitch –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

(since 2013)

Premieres

Olivier Greif Olivier Greif (3 January 1950, Paris – 13 May 2000, Paris) was a French composer of Polish-Jewish parentage. His father was an Auschwitz survivor, which led Greif to compose a number of Holocaust-themed works, including ''Todesfuge'' and ''Let ...

, String quartet No 2 (1996) *

Krzysztof Meyer Krzysztof Meyer (born 11 August 1943) is a Polish composer, pianist, and music scholar, formerly dean of the Department of Music Theory (1972–1975) at the State College of Music (now Academy of Music in Kraków), and president of the Polish C ...

, String quartet No 14 « Au-delà de l'absence » (1998) * Alexander Raskatov, ''Gebet'' for soprano and String quartet (1998) *

Bruno Mantovani Bruno Mantovani (born 8 October 1974) is a French composer. He has been awarded first prizes from the Conservatoire de Paris which he joined in 1993. His work has been commissioned by the French government as well as other organizations. In Septe ...

, ''les fées'' string quartet * Bruno Mantovani, Quintet with harp * Bruno Mantovani, Quintet with 2 cellos *

Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (; 13 March 1952 – 27 July 2024) was a German composer of contemporary classical music and an academic teacher based in Karlsruhe. He was an influential post-war European composer, as "one of the most original and independent mus ...

, Sextet for clarinet, horn and string quartet

Discography

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

– complete string quartets (October 2001 – June 2005, 5CD Fuga libera FUG512 /

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...

) * Peter Swinnen,

Lydia Chagoll Lydia Chagoll (16 June 1931 – 23 June 2020) was a Dutch born dancer, choreographer, film director, screenwriter, writer and actress. Lydia was born in Voorburg as Lydia Aldewereld from Jewish parents. When she was young she moved to Brussels, B ...

– ''La vieille dame et la fille nomade'' (Artist consultancy DIS 001) *

Ahmet Adnan Saygun Ahmet Adnan Saygun (; 7 September 1907 – 6 January 1991) was a Turkish composer, musicologist and writer on music. One of a group of composers known as the Turkish Five who pioneered western classical music in Turkey, his works show a maste ...

– complete string quartets (1–4 December 2003/20-22 September/19 November 2004, 2CD CPO 999 923-2) * Hao-Fu Zhang – Qia-Xiao (June 2002/May 2003/February 2004, Cypres CYP4617) *

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

– String quartets, op. 44, No 1 and 2 (Eufoda 1355) *

Pascal Dusapin Pascal Georges Dusapin (born 29 May 1955) is a French composer. His music is marked by its microtonality, tension, and energy. A pupil of Iannis Xenakis and Franco Donatoni and an admirer of Varèse, Dusapin studied at the University of Pari ...

René Koering René Koering (born 27 May 1940) is a French composer, film producer and theater director. He is particularly known for his involvement in the creation of the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier in 1985. Life Born in Andlau (Bas-Rhin), he p ...

– String quartets (May 2003,

Accord Accord may refer to: Businesses and products * Honda Accord, a car manufactured by the Honda Motor Company * Accord (cigarette), a brand of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges * Accord (company), a former public services provider in south England * Accord ...

476 1919) * Elmar Lampson – ''Fadenkreuze'' (Col Legno 20 234) * Adolphe Biarent – Quintet with piano (Cypres CYP4611) *

André Souris André Souris (; 10 July 1899 – 12 February 1970) was a Belgian composer, conductor, musicologist, and writer associated with the surrealist movement. Biography Souris was born in Marchienne-au-Pont, Belgium, and studied at the Conservatory ...

– Musics (Cypres CYP4610) *

Benoît Mernier Benoît Mernier (born 16 December 1964) is a Belgian classical organist and composer. Biography Born in Bastogne, he was a student of Philippe Boesmans. He is also professor of organ and improvisation at the Higher Institute of Music and Pedago ...

– ''Les idées heureuses'' (1997/2001, Cypres CYP4613) * Patrick De Clerck – Chamber music (May/June 1994, Megadisc MDC 7866) *

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

– String quartets (January 1997, Auvidis V4798) *

Manuel Rosenthal Manuel Rosenthal (18 June 1904 – 5 June 2003) was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and the United States. He was friends with many contemporary composers, and despite a considerab ...

– Chamber music (1996,

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses". Mythology Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...

Karel Goeyvaerts Karel August Goeyvaerts (8 June 1923 – 3 February 1993) was a Belgian composer. Life Goeyvaerts was born in Antwerp, where he studied at the Royal Flemish Music Conservatory; he later studied composition in Paris with Darius Milhaud and analysi ...

– Chamber music (December 1995/January 1996, Megadisc MDC 7853) *

Nicolas Bacri Nicolas Bacri (born 23 November 1961) is a French composer who has written more than one hundred works, including symphonies, string quartets, and violin concertos. Career Nicolas Bacri was born in Paris, France. His musical studies began wit ...

– Chamber music (REM 311 276XCD) * Alexandre Raskatov – Chamber music (Megadisc MDC 7825) *

Mieczysław Weinberg Mieczysław Weinberg (December 8, 1919 – February 26, 1996) was a Polish, Soviet, and Russian composer and pianist. Born in Warsaw to parents who worked in the Yiddish theatre in Poland, his early years were surrounded by music. He taught him ...

– complete string quartets (CPO) — World premieres of quartets 3, 4 and 6. *

César Franck César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

– quartets and quintets with pianoQuatuor Danel
on Clic Musique! with (CPO).

Bibliography

References

External links

Official website

Discography
on

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

Gounod, Quatuor à cordes No. 1 in C Major "Le petit quatuor": I. Adagio – Allegro moderato
(YouTube)
Danel Quartet
on Philharmonie de Paris {{portal bar, classical music, France

Danel Danel (, Ugaritic: 𐎄𐎐𐎛𐎍 DNỈL, " El is judge"), father of Aqhat, was a culture hero who appears in an incomplete Ugaritic text of the fourteenth century BCE at Ugarit (now Ras Shamra), Syria. Tale of Aqhat The text in ''Corpus Ta ...

Musical groups established in 1991