The Fresk Quartet – The Complete Caprice Recordings

The Fresk Quartet, Elisabet Hermodsson, Torbjörn Lillieqvist


Caprice Records releases a 50 track digital compilation of the catalogue’s collected recordings by and with the world famous and long lived string quartet Freskkvartetten (The Fresk Quartet, 1965–1994), still considered one of Sweden’s finest chamber ensembles of the 20th century. The quartet consisted of members Lars Fresk (violin 1), Hans-Erik Westberg (violin 2), Lars-Gunnar Bodin (viola) and Per-Göran Skytt (cello).


The Fresk Quartet was officially formed in 1965 by four fellow students at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, and was hired only two years later by the state music organiser Concert Sweden, which laid the foundation for a long and successful career with many concert tours in Sweden, Europe and North America. They were also active pedagogues at school and “outreach” concerts, or as the music journalist Per-Anders Hellqvist put it in typical 1970s fashion in the booklet of an EP single:

They give old-fashioned, solemn concerts occasionally, but they are just as likely to sit like a group of folk singers in the circle of people at a trade union meeting, in a workshop, in a hospital corridor, or in a classroom.

The Fresk Quartet, photo: Per B. Adolphson.

Based on that account, they can easily be mistaken for rough-hewn amateurs, but on the contrary – the Fresk Quartet is widely known for its refined interplay, brilliant technique, and deep expressiveness. Not a single note is wasted, even when the music’s tempo seems to demand it.

This collection features music that shows the quartet’s enormous breadth as both main artists and background musicians, in everything from Dmitri Shostakovich‘s thouroughly dark String Quartet No. 8, Torbjörn Lillieqvist‘s imaginative children’s music, Allan Pettersson‘s spiky Concerto for Violin and String Quartet with Karl-Ove Mannberg on the solo part, quartets by Wilhelm Stenhammar, Béla Bartók, and Hilding Rosenberg, to the pastoral song by and with Elisabet Hermodsson where “the Fresks” participate.

This collection is exclusively digital and is available on all major digital platforms (and many of the smaller ones!) for streaming and download.

Cover motif: Midjourney AI
Producer & graphic design: Erik Hamrefors

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Show playlist

    • 1.
      Tre folkliga valser: No. 2 Music: Lille Bror Söderlundh

    • 2.
      Natt på heden Music: Elisabet Hermodsson

    • 3.
      String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 2: I. Allegro Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 4.
      String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 2: II. Mesto Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 5.
      String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 2: III. Molto tranquillo e commodo Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 6.
      String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 2: IV. Allegro energico Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 7.
      Rondo in A Major for Violin and String Quartet, D. 438 Music: Franz Schubert

    • 8.
      Vandring i ett gotländskt änge Music: Elisabet Hermodsson

    • 9.
      String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: I. Largo (attacca) Music: Dmitri Shostakovich

    • 10.
      String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: II. Allegro molto (attacca) Music: Dmitri Shostakovich

    • 11.
      String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: III. Allegretto (attacca) Music: Dmitri Shostakovich

    • 12.
      String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: IV. Largo (attacca) Music: Dmitri Shostakovich

    • 13.
      String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 110: V. Largo Music: Dmitri Shostakovich

    • 14.
      E fin vise Music: Valdemar Dahlgren/Gunnar Hahn

    • 15.
      Farfars polska Music: Traditional

    • 16.
      String Quartet No. 4: I. Allegro assai Music: Hilding Rosenberg

    • 17.
      String Quartet No. 4: II. Poco lento Music: Hilding Rosenberg

    • 18.
      String Quartet No. 4: III. Allegretto Music: Hilding Rosenberg

    • 19.
      String Quartet No. 4: IV. Allegretto con brio Music: Hilding Rosenberg

    • 20.
      Om försjunkenhet i naturen Music: Elisabet Hermodsson

    • 21.
      Die Zauberflöte, K. 620: 'Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja' (sung in Swedish) Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    • 22.
      String Quartet No. 3: I. Moderato Music: Jan Carlstedt

    • 23.
      String Quartet No. 3: II. Allegro Music: Jan Carlstedt

    • 24.
      String Quartet No. 3: III. Adagio (attacca) Music: Jan Carlstedt

    • 25.
      String Quartet No. 3: IV. Andante - Vivo Music: Jan Carlstedt

    • 26.
      Signelsevisa Music: Elisabet Hermodsson

    • 27.
      Kadrilj Music: Eberhard Eyser

    • 28.
      String Quartet No. 4: I. Allegro Music: Béla Bartók

    • 29.
      String Quartet No. 4: II. Prestissimo, con sordino Music: Béla Bartók

    • 30.
      String Quartet No. 4: III. Non troppo lento Music: Béla Bartók

    • 31.
      String Quartet No. 4: IV. Allegretto pizzicato Music: Béla Bartók

    • 32.
      String Quartet No. 4: V. Allegro molto Music: Béla Bartók

    • 33.
      Vaggvisa Music: Bernhard Fliess

    • 34.
      String Quartet No. 3 in G Minor, Op. 74, 'The Horseman': IV. Finale: Allegro con brio Music: Joseph Haydn

    • 35.
      Concerto for Violin and String Quartet: I. Allegro moderato Music: Allan Pettersson

    • 36.
      Concerto for Violin and String Quartet: II. Lento Music: Allan Pettersson

    • 37.
      Concerto for Violin and String Quartet: III. Allegro moderato Music: Allan Pettersson

    • 38.
      Trollmors vaggsång Music: Margit Holmberg/Gunnar Hahn

    • 39.
      Naturens sorg Music: Elisabet Hermodsson

    • 40.
      String Quartet No. 5 in C major, Op. 29, 'Serenade': I. Allegro molto con spirito Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 41.
      String Quartet No. 5 in C major, Op. 29, 'Serenade': II. Ballata: Allegretto scherzando Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 42.
      String Quartet No. 5 in C major, Op. 29, 'Serenade': III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 43.
      String Quartet No. 5 in C major, Op. 29, 'Serenade': IV. Finale: Allegro molto Music: Wilhelm Stenhammar

    • 44.
      Trois pièces: No. 1 Music: Igor Stravinsky

    • 45.
      Vakna först i sommartid Music: Elisabet Hermodsson

    • 46.
      String Quartet No. 10: I. Moderato (quasi andante) Music: Hilding Rosenberg

    • 47.
      String Quartet No. 10: II. Allegro vivace Music: Hilding Rosenberg

    • 48.
      String Quartet No. 10: III. Poco adagio Music: Hilding Rosenberg

    • 49.
      String Quartet No. 10: IV. Allegro assai Music: Hilding Rosenberg

    • 50.
      La Danza Music: Gioacchino Rossini/Gunnar Hahn

  • Total playtime
CAP 80026 // Classical // Releasedate: 14 April, 2023