20th Century Norwegian String Quartets: Oslo Sq

Klaus Egge's folk-inspired String Quartet No. 1 was written upon the death of a friend, the poet Hans Reynolds. The piece utilizes a moving Eskimo lament in homage to Reynolds's study of Greenland Eskimos. But it is the opening Largo that is most memorable and it is performed with an appropriate degree of subdued solemnity by the Oslo String Quartet.
Inspired by a nocturnal visit to a local harbor, Fartein Valen's String Quartet No. 2 utilizes a variety of certain interval leaps that, when juxtaposed with dynamics, gives the music a swaying feeling. This is a short but intense work of immense power.
Johan Kvandal's String Quartet No. 3 is a rather Shostakovich-like piece in that it is tonal throughout and is also a throwback to the 19th century in the way it adheres to classical sonata form. It is played with great fiery abandon by the Oslo Quartet.
Alfred Janson's String Quartet is the showpiece here that demonstrates best the Oslo Quartet's first-class musicianship. This is a cunning work of great variety and rhythmic dexterity: subtle nods to jazz, buzzing tremolos, and an overall neo-expressionist style that makes this a unique work in the canon of Norwegian string quartets.