Regarded internationally as one of the foremost string quartets of the day, the Hagen Quartet consists of the two brothers Lukas and Clemens and their sister Veronika Hagen and, since autumn 1987, Rainer Schmidt.
Lukas Hagen - violin
Rainer Schmidt - violin
Veronika Hagen - viola
Clemens Hagen - violoncello
The Quartet studied in Salzburg, Basel, Hannover and Cincinnati, where their teachers included Hatto Beyerle, Heinrich Schiff, Walter Levin and Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
Since then they have appeared across the globe, touring throughout Europe, the USA, South America, Asia and Australia. In 2002 they were special guests in the New Year's Day concert of the Vienna Philharmonic, broadcast to 800 million people worldwide.
The Quartet is committed to works by contemporary composers such as Ligeti, as well as to the rich heritage of the quartet repertoire. This is reflected in their recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, which have won the Grand Prix International du Disque on two occasions.
Lukas Hagen plays a 1724 Stradivarius made in Cremona, and Veronika Hagen plays a viola by Maggini of Brescia, both of which were kindly loaned to them by the Österreichische Nationalbank.
The Hagen Quartet is represented by Intermusica.
Apr 2007/167 words. Not to be altered without permission. Please destroy all previous biographical material.