Among Austria's foremost chamber groups, the Hagen Quartett earned worldwide notice through an expansive repertoire and partnerships that included violinist Gidon Kremer. Its extensive discography appears chiefly on Deutsche Grammophon, with later releases issued on the Myrios Classics imprint.
The founding lineup consisted of Salzburg siblings Lukas Hagen on first violin, Angelika Hagen also on first violin, Veronika Hagen on viola, and Clemens Hagen on cello. Raised in a musical household, the four had performed together from childhood onward. Their training took place at Salzburg's Mozarteum as well as in Basel, Switzerland, Hannover, Germany, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. The siblings established the Hagen Quartett—sometimes presented in English as the Hagen Quartet or Hagen String Quartet—in 1981. Instruction came from violist Hatto Beyerle in Europe and from the members of the LaSalle Quartet in the United States, while additional formative influences included early-music conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the contemporary-music specialist Gidon Kremer. The resulting ensemble maintained a core focus on mainstream nineteenth-century repertoire yet extended its programming from Bach to newly composed works.
A decisive early success arrived at the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival in 1981, where the group captured multiple prizes, followed by a first-prize victory at the 1982 Portsmouth String Quartet Competition that secured a London debut at Wigmore Hall. The quartet's first commercial recording appeared in 1984 on the London label, featuring pianist András Schiff in Schubert's Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 ("Trout"). Two years later the ensemble transferred to Deutsche Grammophon for a program of Schubert string quartets. Angelika Hagen departed and was succeeded initially by Annette Bik and, from 1987 onward, by Rainer Schmidt; the remaining three Hagen siblings continued as members into the mid-2020s.
The quartet has appeared regularly in Europe's principal music centers and in Tokyo, while maintaining a strong presence in the United States—performing at New York's 92nd Street Y, in Washington, Cleveland, and additional cities—as well as in Montreal. Still headquartered in Salzburg, the group plays a central role in the city's musical community through its teaching at the Mozarteum. Its distinguished roster of collaborators encompasses composer and pianist György Kurtág, pianists Maurizio Pollini and Mitsuko Uchida, and clarinetist Sabine Meyer. Although the Hagen Quartett remained with Deutsche Grammophon through the 2010s, it began recording for Myrios Classics in 2010. By the time it issued an album of clarinet quintets by Mozart and Jörg Widmann on Myrios Classics in 2023, the ensemble's catalog encompassed approximately thirty-five releases.
