From their debut at the beginning of the 1980s, the Hagen Quartet has established itself as one of the most prominent quartets of our time. Although many ensembles are formed through musical encounters or years of study, the Hagen Quartet was from the very start a family affair uniting brothers and sisters around a chosen repertoire. It was their father, first violinist in the Salzburg Mozarteum, who introduced his children to music. Lukas, Angelika, Veronika and Clemens quickly played music together sight-reading the most beautiful pages in chamber music. A quartet was founded and received attention and advice from prestigious masters like Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Walter Levin, Hatto Beyerle and Heinrich Schiff.
In 1987, Angelika Hagen left the quartet. Annette Blik succeeded her as second violin, then to be replaced by Rainer Schmidt. Despite these internal modifications from which few quartets are spared, the quartet won numerous awards including the First Prize at the famous Yehudi Menuhin String Quartet Competition in Portsmouth. From that moment onwards, the quartet’s career was propelled onto the international stage. Working partnerships with renowned musicians were made, (from the pianist Maurizio Pollini to the clarinettist Sabine Meyer), in the most prestigious concert halls in front of the most demanding audiences.
The Hagen Quartet has a partiality for the Germanic repertoire: Schubert or Mozart, (whose complete quartets they have recorded), figure in most of their concerts. The Hagen Quartet is however concerned about extending its repertoire to the maximum and contributing to first performances of contemporary works. They have hence commissioned several composers and given first performances of works by Bernd Alois Zimmermann and Georg Friedrich Haas. Their rich musical experience has enabled the Hagen Quartet’s sonority to reach total maturity over time without losing the surge of its first years.
