Get to know Anton Kontra.

The prize-winning violinist, born and trained in Hungary, settled in Denmark in 1965, at the age of 33. Though perhaps not a household name in North America, Kontra was indispensable to the cultural life of Scandinavia, as a concert soloist, as founder of the Kontra Quartet, in 1973, and, for 24 years, as concertmaster of the Sjaelland Symphony Orchestra (a.k.a. the Copenhagen Philharmonic, or the Tivoli Symphony), the Danish regional orchestra of Zealand. Many writers confuse this – a region named for a Danish island – with NEW Zealand, quite a different animal! After 1988, Kontra served as concertmaster of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra of Sweden.

In 1989, the Kontra Quartet was designated a Danish State ensemble. This allowed members of the quartet – the others principles of the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra – greater freedom to tour, record, and participate in workshops.

Kontra died today at the age of 88. Here are just a few examples of his artistry.

“Anton Kontra: The History of an Artist” (30 minutes of pure bliss)

The Kontra Quartet performs Rued Langgaard’s String Quartet No. 4, “Summer Days”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxYIIsHcVy0

Kontra with the great Dane, Victor Borge