The Hagen Quartet, one of the world’s most renowned string quartets, is concluding its 45-year career this summer with a farewell tour that culminates in Tokyo on July 7. Established as a professional ensemble in 1981, the group’s roots trace back to 1975 when the four Hagen siblings—Angelika, Lukas, Veronika, and Clemens—first performed together at a youth music competition in Austria. Raised in Salzburg, the members were introduced to music early, receiving foundational training from their father, Oskar Hagen, longtime principal violist of the Mozarteum Orchestra.
The quartet has been celebrated for its nuanced performances, characterized by a warm and transparent sound, precise ensemble coordination, and the ability to balance detailed musical elements within a cohesive interpretation. Their performance style, marked by subtle, almost telepathic communication, has been admired in leading concert halls worldwide and documented through approximately 50 recordings.
Their farewell tour recently included a concert in Salzburg, their hometown, where the group has also contributed as educators at Mozarteum University. The emotional significance of the final season was noted by violist Veronika Hagen, who reflected on the bittersweet experience of performing works they have played repeatedly yet are now preparing to leave behind.
Angelika Hagen, who left the quartet in 1981 to pursue anthropology and later returned to music through improvisation, attended one of the final concerts in Vienna alongside Julia Hagen, the cellist daughter of Clemens. Julia’s participation in the performances of Schubert’s String Quintet in C major signaled a continuation of the Hagen family's musical legacy beyond the quartet’s disbandment. Angelika expressed confidence in the enduring impact of the Hagen sound.
Following Angelika’s departure, violinist Rainer Schmidt joined the ensemble in 1987 and has remained a key member since. Schmidt highlighted the group’s unique flexibility, describing how the musicians maintain rhythmic unity without resorting to mechanical precision, a hallmark of their interpretive approach.
Recent farewell concerts featured Schubert’s late quartets, including the emotionally charged “Death and the Maiden” (D. 810) and the complex String Quartet in G major (D. 887). Performances revealed intricate phrasing and dynamic contrasts, exemplifying the quartet’s mastery and deep familiarity with the repertoire. The concerts also drew a large audience of Mozarteum students, some of whom credited the Hagen Quartet with shaping their own musical development.
As the ensemble transitions from the stage, its members anticipate spending less time traveling and practicing, acknowledging the physical demands of a long career. Veronika Hagen described the experience of saying goodbye as a “continuous exercise,” capturing a mixture of gratitude and melancholy befitting the profound final works of composers like Schubert that have defined much of their repertoire.