Nielsen composed two quartets and a string quintet during his student years, and then two more in relatively quick succession, to which he gave opus numbers: the G minor, Op. 13, (FS4) of 1888 and F minor, Op. 5 (FS11) of 1890. (The letters FS, incidently, indicate a number allotted to a Nielsen work by two scholars, Dan Fog and Torben Schousboe, which is a more reliable guide to their chronology than the often arbitrary opus numbers Nielsen assigned them. Their list is reproduced as an appendix to the 1979 edition of Robert Simpson's monograph.) The First Quartet bears the higher opus number of 13 for the simple reason that Nielsen revised it some years later, publishing it in 1900. There was a gap of eight years between the F minor Quartet and the Third, in E flat, Op. 14 (FS23) during which Nielsen had written his First Symphony, and another eight before the F major Op. 44 (FS36) saw the light of day. By this time he had written his opera, Saul and David and the best part of Maskarade as well as the Second Symphony. The five individual movements recorded here all come from the period 1881–87 and have a certain charm but offer little hint of the individuality that was to emerge in the Little Suite, Op. 1 or even the G major String Quintet (1888).
The Danish Quartet is not to be confused with earlier ensembles of the same name: they are the third to bear the name and were formed in 1985. I like their playing a lot. They do not have the thrust or, perhaps, the finish of the Kontra Quartet on BIS, but they are very sensitive to dynamic nuance, phrase more imaginatively, and are generally speaking more involving. In the slow movement of the E flat Quartet, for example, they achieve a rapt quality, a real pianissimo, in spite of the difficulties posed by a rather cramped, dryish acoustic. Of course, the F major Quartet goes deeper than the Third. There is a grace, an effortless fluency and a marvellous control of pace. Ideas come and go just when you feel they should, yet its learning and mastery is worn lightly. And though the earlier quartets are not such perfect works of art, they are always endearing. If the Danish Quartet is not the very last word in finesse, they are completely inside this music and totally persuasive. I found myself entirely held by them throughout the whole cycle. The Carl Nielsen Quartet on a mid DG set comes with an eminently serviceable account of the Wind Quintet but the performances of the quartets themselves are pretty scruffy. The Kontras offer the early G major Quintet and the original version of the Andante lamentoso in accomplished well-recorded performances. In spite of the closely balanced recording this set gives real pleasure and can be recommended with enthusiasm.'