Hagen Quartett in Muziekgebouw aan het IJ met Jorg Widmann

The Hagen Quartet is an Austrian

string quartet The term string quartet can refer 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 violinists ...

founded in 1981 by four siblings, Lukas, Angelika (first replaced by Annette Bik, who was then replaced by Rainer Schmidt in 1987), Veronika and Clemens, in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

. The quartet members are teachers and mentors at the

Salzburg Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Moz ...

and the Hochschule für Musik Basel. The ensemble made its

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...

debut in 1984. The complete recordings of the

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

string quartets were released in 2006. In the 2012–2013 season, the Hagen Quartet performed the complete

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

cycle in New York, Tokyo, Paris, London, Salzburg and Vienna. They performed, between December 2013 and August 2017, on the four famous Stradivarius instruments played previously by the

Paganini Quartet The Paganini Quartet was an American string quartet founded by cellist Robert Maas and violinist Henri Temianka in 1946. The quartet drew its name from the fact that all four of its instruments, made by Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737), had o ...

, the Cleveland String Quartet, and the

Tokyo String Quartet The was an international string quartet that operated from 1969 to 2013. The group formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music. The founding members attended the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, where they studied with Professor Hideo ...

, respectively. Those instruments are now being played by the

Quartetto di Cremona The Quartetto di Cremona ( en, Cremona Quartet) is an Italian string quartet founded in Cremona and considered one of the best of its generation. Origins and activities The most recent incarnation of the quartet was formed in the year 2000, whi ...

Awards

* 1981

Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival The Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival (alternate: ''Internationales Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus'') is an annual chamber music festival located in the Austrian state of Burgenland. It is held at three venues in Lockenhaus: Burg Lockenhaus castle, ...

, Prize of the Jury, Audience Prize * 1982 Portsmouth International String Quartet Competition, First Prize, Audience Prize * 1996

Accademia Musicale Chigiana The Accademia Musicale Chigiana (''English'': Chigiana Musical Academy) is a music institute in Siena, Italy. It was founded by Count Guido Chigi-Saracini in 1932 as an international centre for advanced musical studies. It organises Master Class ...

International Prize * 2011

ECHO Klassik The Echo Klassik, often stylized as ECHO Klassik, was Germany's major classical music award in 22 categories. The award, presented by the , was held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo Music Prize. Th ...

Ensemble of the Year for "Hagen Quartett 30" (MYR006)

Members

The current members are: * Lukas Hagen, violin * Rainer Schmidt, violin *

Veronika Hagen Veronika Hagen (born 5 May 1963, in Salzburg) is an Austrian Viola, violist. Born in Salzburg, Hagen began to learn music at the age of six with her father, who was at that time concertmaster of the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg. She then contin ...

, viola * , cello

References

Musical groups established in 1981 Austrian string quartets Deutsche Grammophon artists {{Austria-band-stub