Peter Heise - Complete String Quartets (Nordic String Quartet)

Information

Composer: Peter Heise

• String Quartet No. 1 in B Minor
• String Quartet No. 2 in G Major
• String Quartet No. 3 in B-Flat Major
• String Quartet No. 4 in C Minor
• String Quartet No. 5 in A Major
• String Quartet No. 6 in G Minor

Nordic String Quartet

    Heiðrun Petersen, violin

    Mads Haugsted Hansen, violin

    Daniel Eklund, viola

    Lea Emilie Brøndal, cello

Date: 2026

Label: Dacapo

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Peter Heise, best known for his art songs and for composing one of the most significant Danish operas of the 19th century, also wrote six string quartets between 1851 and 1857 that remained largely overlooked for many years. The Nordic String Quartet has undertaken a complete recording project of these works, beginning in 2023 with Volume 1 (Quartets Nos. 1–3) and culminating in a three-disc set that includes the world premiere recordings of Quartets Nos. 4–6. This survey highlights Heise’s refined melodic gift, lyrical sensitivity, and structural craftsmanship within the chamber music medium. Performed with clarity and expressive warmth, the recordings reveal the composer’s poetic musical voice and contribute to a renewed appreciation of his contribution to Romantic-era string quartet repertoire.

Peter Heise (1830–1879) was a leading Danish Romantic composer, best known for his songs, romances for voice and piano, and the national opera Drot og Marsk. Although his output included only a small number of operatic works, Drot og Marsk—composed in 1876–77 and premiered in 1878—became one of the most important Danish operas, frequently performed and centered on the historical assassination of King Erik Glipping. Heise also played a key role in refining the Danish Lied tradition, composing hundreds of melodically elegant and structurally clear songs that continued the lineage of earlier composers such as Weyse and Gade. Despite his significance, much of his music remained unpublished or undocumented during his lifetime. He died at the age of 49, yet is regarded as one of the most important vocal composers of his era.

The Nordic String Quartet, founded in 2013, is a Scandinavian chamber ensemble comprising musicians from the Faroe Islands, Denmark, and Sweden. The quartet made its debut in 2019 at the Royal Danish Academy of Music under the guidance of Professor Tim Frederiksen and has since established itself as a prominent advocate for both core repertoire and overlooked Nordic works. Their artistic profile is strongly defined by a landmark recording project for Dacapo Records, including the complete string quartets of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen and rediscovered works by Nancy Dalberg. Praised for their cohesive ensemble playing and interpretive clarity, the quartet is especially committed to Scandinavian composers such as Nielsen, Grieg, and Sibelius. Their work has earned multiple honors, including the Odd Fellow Music Prize and the Léonie Sonning Talent Prize, reinforcing their reputation as leading interpreters of Nordic chamber music.