Dudok Quartet Amsterdam

Curious
Charismatic
Captivating

The Dudok Quartet Amsterdam aims to show that music affects people; that music can lead us to profundity and connection especially when it provokes friction. The true meaning of music reveals itself in a shared experience in which you, as a listener, play a vital role.

Album

Tchaikovsky String Quartets Vol. 1

The Dudoks will release two albums for Rubicon Classics in 2024 encompassing all of Tchaikovsky’s works for String Quartet on gut strings, together with their own arrangements of his music.

The first installment will be out on April 26. To celebrate the event, we will perform his complete works during a series of three concerts as part of our own festival Dudok Muziekdagen Kampen, taking place May 16-19.

First introduction

Beyond the score

Beyond the score

The main challenge as we prepare each program is to find answers to the questions ‘what is the true nature of this music, and what worlds can we unveil behind the score?’

This quest is our main incentive to delve further into the music. Without losing sight of our rich string quartet tradition, we always search for new formats and new perspectives.

Instruments and setup

Instruments and setup

Besides playing the music, we also play with our instrumentation. We use different types of bows for different styles of music. The setup of our beautiful vintage instruments is often adjusted according to the repertoire. We preferably play music composed until the late 19th century with unwound gut strings. For more recent repertoire we use either wound gut or steel strings.

Our tools enable us to push our artistic boundaries, helping the audience re-live the experience of hearing masterpieces for the first time. We don't believe to possess "the truth" on the matter, but we do believe music can have many different guises.

The set of instruments we use is a generous loan from the Dutch Musical Instrument Foundation (NMF). The bows have been acquired with the help of the Friends of the Dudok Quartet and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust.

Videos

Tchaikovsky – Making Waves

Check out the fist video clip for our album Tchaikovsky – String Quartets Vol. I: Making Waves

Listen or pre-order here or more info here.

 

Jean-Luc Ponty – Jig

Jig the CIRCUS DINOGAD album, a collaboration with contralto Hilary Summers, bass clarinetist Maarten Ornstein, theorbist Mike Fentross .

Bruckner – String Quintet in F major

Recorded live in February of 2022 at Amsterdam’s Orgelpark, with guest violist Lilli Maijala. Audio recording by Bert van Dijk / Helix Audio

Reflections – Album trailer

Interviews and behind-the-scenes footage captured during the recording sessions for our album REFLECTIONS. This album releases worldwide digitally and as a CD on November 25th 2022!

Brahms – Complete String Quartets & String Quintet Op. 111

First recording of these works on unwound gut strings and early romantic bows, debut album for Rubicon Classics.

Shostakovich – Prelude Op. 34 no. 10 in C-sharp minor

This prelude was arranged by the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam and features on our album Reflections, alongside six other preludes from the same Opus 34 set, as well as Shostakovich’s 5th String Quartet and the 4th String Quartet by Grażyna Bacewicz

Richard Wagner – ‘Prelude & Liebestod’ from Tristan und Isolde

World renowned accordionist Vincent van Amsterdam joined us for this arrangement by Max Knigge. With the addition of his instrument, our color palette instantly gained a complete horn section! The score and parts are available for free, see Downloads.

Schedule

20 April 2024
20:00

Dni Muzyki Nowej Gdańsk
Gdańsk, PL

28 April 2024
14:30

UKARIA Cultural Centre
Adelaide Hills, AU

2 May 2024
15:00

Canberra International Music Festival
Canberra, AU

3 May 2024
19:30

Canberra International Music Festival
Canberra, AU

4 May 2024
14:30

Canberra International Music Festival
Canberra, AU

5 May 2024
18:30

Canberra International Music Festival
Canberra, AU

16 May 2024
00:00

Dudok Muziekdagen
Kampen, NL

17 May 2024
00:00

Dudok Muziekdagen
Kampen, NL

18 May 2024
00:00

Dudok Muziekdagen
Kampen, NL

19 May 2024
00:00

Dudok Muziekdagen
Kampen, NL

Your support, our future

Our aim is to become more than a string quartet satisfied with high quality performances of well-established music in familiar venues alone. As a Friend you can help us developing our dream: becoming a medium that ensures a core genre in musical history to play a vital role for the future. 

One-time donation More info

Newsletter

Our musical world stretches far beyond the reach of the concert hall. Upcoming concepts, new discoveries, or indulgence of pure beauty: our newsletter summarizes all of it for you in a convenient package.