「琢磨亮麗，組合絲絲入扣，是哈根四重奏的特色。」 《今日古典》
「打破常規的音樂……美得令你臣服。」《漢堡晚報》
「毫無疑問是當今最著名的弦樂四重奏團。」《新蘇黎世報》

哈根四重奏由盧卡斯（Lukas Hagen）、薇若妮卡（Veronika Hagen）、克萊門斯（Clemens Hagen）三位薩爾茲堡哈根家族成員，以及德國小提琴家萊納‧舒密特（Rainer Schmidt，1987 年加入代替 Annette Bik）所組成。三位哈根家族成員早年曾在薩爾茲堡莫札特音樂院學習。薇羅妮卡與盧卡斯是柴恩麥爾博士（Helmut Zehetmair）在薩爾茲堡的門生。他們同時也向畢爾（Hatto Beyerle）和克萊曼學習。克來門斯則是塔雀齊（Wilfried Tachezi）與席夫的學生。舒密特在德國、加拿大與美國唸書。在辛辛那提音樂院期間，舒密特曾接受萊維（Walter Levin）與迪蕾的指導。

哈根四重奏於 1981 年受邀參加奧地利洛肯豪斯室內樂音樂節（Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival），這是他們首度登台演出，當時年紀最大的成員也不過 19 歲，他們與克萊曼、邁森柏格共同演出，獲得評審團大獎與觀眾票選第一名。1982 年，哈根四重奏在英國樸茨茅斯弦樂四重奏大賽（Portsmouth String Quartet Competition）奪得首獎，同年在威格摩爾廳的演出獲得滿堂彩。1983 年哈根四重奏贏得愛維恩國際弦樂四重奏大賽（Evian International String Quartet Competition）首獎。1985 年哈根四重奏榮獲奧地利文化部頒發「莫札特作品詮釋獎」。2011 年，哈根四重奏贏得了鼎鼎有名的回聲古典獎（Echo Klassik award），為「年度最佳團體」。2012 年，哈根四重奏獲維也納音樂廳（Konzerthaus Wien）選為榮譽會員。

哈根四重奏曾經與哈農庫特、庫塔格、波里尼、內田光子、莎賓梅耶、齊瑪曼、席夫等人合作演出。2009 年，哈根四重奏受到指揮大師阿巴多邀請，加入琉森節慶管弦樂團（Lucerne Festival Orchestra）演出，擁有豪華陣容的琉森節慶管弦樂團也以哈根四重奏的加入為榮，樂團在對外介紹他們強大的音樂家陣容時，總是將哈根四重奏視為他們的「金字招牌」，哈根四重奏的藝術成就由此可見一斑。

哈根四重奏在 1981 年成軍之後，隨即與德國 DG 唱片公司簽下獨家錄音合約，在其後的 20 年灌錄了約 45 張 CD，他們得以無限量地探究經典弦樂四重奏曲目，而他們與眾不同的面貌也由此形成。哈根四重奏的演奏曲目，由音樂會到錄音，都是經過精心編排，涵蓋弦樂四重奏的整個發展過程，由海頓之前的發軔期，一直至到庫塔克的作品。哈根四重奏也與當代作曲家緊密合作，演出他們的作品或委託他們創作新曲，並為這些新作品舉行世界首演。哈根四重奏慶祝成軍 30 年的貝多芬弦樂四重奏全集世界巡迴演出，被《奧地利新聞報》（Die Presse）譽為「當今存在的藝術最高境界」，而且他們也發行兩張唱片慶祝這個里程碑，收錄莫札特、韋伯、貝多芬、葛利格與布拉姆斯作品，由 Myrios Classics 出版。兩張 CD 皆贏得樂評一致盛讚，德國權威古典音樂雜誌《唱片論壇》（Fono Forum）：「這個世界一流的四重奏團不僅百尺竿頭，更往前進了一步。他們的嶄新視野教人屏息靜氣，欲罷不能……。那些色彩、那些感情，是如此豐富，引人入勝。」而他們之後所發行的貝多芬弦樂四重奏專輯，更獲得 2013 年法國年度金叉獎。2014/15 樂季，他們以演奏莫札特作品為主，在歐洲、亞洲各大重要音樂之都演出莫札特十首弦樂四重奏。

對許多年輕一輩的弦樂四重奏團來說，哈根四重奏是他們的模範，讓他們認識何謂超卓音質、多元風格、完美合作演奏，並嚴肅面對樂曲，向作曲者認真負責。哈根四重奏的成員自 1988 年起都是薩爾斯堡莫札特音樂院和巴塞爾音樂學院的教師，同時在世界各地舉行大師班，不斷地把豐富的經驗傳授後進。

2013 年起，哈根四重奏受到日本音樂財團（Nippon Music Foundation）資助，使用名為「帕格尼尼」四重奏的史特拉第瓦里名琴演出。

The upcoming season of the Hagen Quartet, recognized as “undoubtedly the world’s most famous quartet,” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) comes on the heels of a highly successful and internationally celebrated 30th season devoted to the complete Beethoven string quartets. The Hagen Quartet starts their extensive touring in the 14/15 season with a Mozart cycle, featuring Mozart’s ten major string quartets in the most important musical centers throughout Europe and Asia.

The quartet’s 30th anniversary was lauded as a “grandiose culmination” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) and “the highest art of existence.” (DiePresse.com)

This milestone was also celebrated with two new recordings, released on myrios classics, of works by Mozart, Webern, Beethoven, Grieg and Brahms (clarinetist Jörg Widmann joined the quartet for the Brahms.) Both recordings received outstanding reviews from the international press. In its review, the German magazine FonoForum wrote of the “world-class ensemble [... having] advanced even further. Its new vision is breathtaking and can become addictive. [...] The richness of colours and emotions is spellbinding.”

The Hagen Quartet was recognised with the prestigious ECHO Klassik award as Ensemble of the Year 2011. In 2012, the quartet was named Honorary Member of Vienna’s Konzerthaus.

The unprecedented three-decade career of the Hagen Quartet began in 1981. Its early years, marked by a series of prizes in chamber music competitions and an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon that was to produce around forty-five CDs over the following twenty years, enabled the group to work its way through the virtually unlimited quartet repertoire from which the distinctive profile of the Hagens has emerged.

Collaborations with artistic personalities such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt and György Kurtág are as important to the Hagen Quartet as its concert appearances with performers including Maurizio Pollini, Mitsuko Uchida, Sabine Meyer, Krystian Zimerman, Heinrich Schiff and Jörg Widmann.

The group’s concert repertoire and discography feature attractive and intelligently arranged programmes embracing the entire history of the string quartet, from its pre-Haydn beginnings right through to Kurtág. The Hagen Quartet also works closely with composers of its own generation, whether by reviving existing works or by commissioning and premiering new pieces.

For many young string quartets, the Hagen Quartet is a model in terms of sound quality, stylistic plurality, ensemble playing and serious commitment to the works and composers of its chosen genre. As teachers and mentors at the Salzburg Mozarteum and the Hochschule in Basel, as well as in international masterclasses, the quartet’s members pass on their wealth of experience to their younger colleagues.

Since mid-2013, the Hagen Quartett has been performing on instruments made by Antonio Stradivari, known as the "Paganini" quartet, generously on loan by the Nippon Music Foundation.