En direct, Vidéo: Rechercher des critiques de musique classique, opéra et ballet | Quatuor à cordes no. 23 en fa mineur, Op.20 no. 5, Hob III: 35

Three great and contrasting works from different centuries, in superlative performances; a surprising programme with a real touch of alchemy.

The Danish String Quartet provide a thoughtful Haydn, a compelling Beethoven and a Nielsen which shows them at their best. 

People want to be in love and to live forever. That is not how things work out. Haydn explores this contradiction in his string quartets. What makes each quartet different is how Haydn resolves musically the way things do work out.

There’s nothing like a festival coming to your neighbourhood to highlight gaps in local knowledge. Despite having grown up 12 miles from Dunbar, I’d never spotted, far less entered, St Anne’s Episcopal Church. It is a gem of a place with a superb chamber music acoustic.

The uncluttered stage mirrored the promised clarity of quality string quartet writing and playing; four chairs, four music stands, BBC microphones suspended on a wire, promising a future broadcast. A capacity Queen's Hall audience of 900 welcomed this young quartet, a decade after their Edinburgh International Festival début.