Belcea Quartet

String Quartet

Corina Belcea
Violin
Axel Schacher
Violin
Krzysztof Chorzelski
Viola
Antoine Lederlin
Cello
"For me the String Quartet is the only ensemble in which sometimes you are right at the front of the texture and in the next bar you have to disappear completely. "
Axel Schacher / Belcea Quartet, The Strad, September 2019
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Biography

"The most striking thing […] was its spirit of freedom"
...as the London Times wrote in the Spring of 2019, these musicians are not confined by traditional boundaries. The two founding members, the Romanian violinist Corina Belcea and the Polish violist Krzysztof Chorzelski, brought a very different artistic provenance to the ensemble in 1994, which was expanded by the French musicians Axel Schacher (violin) and Antoine Lederlin (violoncello).
„[…] the purity of tone and pitch that distinguished the ensemble from the outset remains a hallmark of its work.”The London Times, March 2020
This also reflects the range of their repertoire: they have already recorded the complete string quartets by Bartók, Beethoven, Brahms (Diapason d'or de l'année 2016), and Britten and are constantly presenting new works by contemporary composers such as Joseph Phibbs (2018), Krzysztof Penderecki (2016), Thomas Larcher (2015) and Mark-Anthony Turnage (2014 & 2010). Another work follows this season: The French composer Guillaume Connesson has dedicated his new String Quartet to the Belcea Quartet, it will be world premièred in Vevey, premieres will follow at the Cologne Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Wien, Wigmore Hall London, Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and Dunkers Kulturhus Helsingborg. These commissioned works are created in association with the quartet's own foundation, whose aim is to continually broaden the string quartet literature as well as to support young quartets through concentrated joint coaching sessions. In this way they can also pass on to the next generation the experience they gained as students of the Amadeus & Alban Berg Quartet.

In addition to the complete recordings, the quartet can refer to a varied discography with recordings (among others) of Berg, Dutilleux, Mozart, Schönberg & Schubert. Recent recordings include the Shostakovich Album, with the 3rd String Quartet and the Piano Quintet with Piotr Anderszewski, (2018) and the string quartets by Janáček & Ligeti's 'Metamorphoses nocturnes' (2019). In the Spring of 2022 they recorded both of Brahms’ String Sextets with Tabea Zimmermann and Jean-Guihen Queyras.
„No other recent performances surpass these for their mellifluous blend of sound and the naturalness with which the six players allow the music to flow, not too emphatic, but always giving the music its full weight and significance. The music glows, as Brahms surely intended it should.”Financial Times, March 2022
Their performances of all Beethoven String Quartets at the Konzerthaus Vienna in 2012 were released on DVD by EuroArts in 2014, followed by the release of a recording of Britten's three String Quartets in 2015.

From 2017 to 2020, the quartet was the Ensemble in Residence of the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, where the four return to regularly since then. Since 2010 the Belcea Quartet is part of a shared string quartet cycle at the Konzerthaus Vienna, from this season on the Quatuor Ébène is their partner-ensemble there.

This season the ensemble will perform at the String Quartet Biennale in Barcelona, Wigmore Hall London, the Pohang Festival in South Korea, Flagey in Brussels, Tonhalle Zurich as well as the Konserthus in Stockholm, to name just a few.

Instruments
Corina Belcea
Violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (1755), kindly on loan from MERITO String Instruments Trusts Vienna

Axel Schacher
Violin by Nicolas Lupot (1824)

Krzysztof Chorzelski
Viola by Nicola Amati (ca. 1670)

Antoine Lederlin
Cello by Matteo Gofriller (1722), kindly on loan from MERITO String Instruments Trusts Vienna

2022 / 2023
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by artist management.
Contacts: Linda Uschinski (Department Head), Ramona Wiener

Images

Programme

2023 / 2024
2022 / 2023
2021 / 2022

Schedule

13.04.2023
19:30 Uhr
GB / London III - Wigmore Hall
Belcea Quartet, Bertrand Chamayou
14.04.2023
19:30 Uhr
ES / Madrid - Auditorio Nacional de Música CNDM Sala de Cámara
Belcea Quartet, Bertrand Chamayou
15.04.2023
19:30 Uhr
AT / Wien - Konzerthaus Mozartsaal
Belcea Quartet, Bertrand Chamayou
16.04.2023
17:00 Uhr
FR / Strasbourg - Cité de la musique et de la danse Auditorium
Belcea Quartet
19.04.2023
20:00 Uhr
DE / München - Residenz Herkulessaal
Belcea Quartet, Bertrand Chamayou
20.04.2023
19:30 Uhr
DE / Berlin - Pierre Boulez Saal
Belcea Quartet, Bertrand Chamayou
21.04.2023
20:00 Uhr
BE / Antwerpen - De Singel
Belcea Quartet, Bertrand Chamayou
23.04.2023
11:00 Uhr
FR / Paris - Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
Belcea Quartet, Bertrand Chamayou
12.05.2023
19:00 Uhr
SE / Helsingborg - Dunkers Kulturhus
Belcea Quartet
13.05.2023
16:00 Uhr
SE / Stockholm - Stockholms Konserthus
Belcea Quartet
14.05.2023
18:00 Uhr
FI / Helsinki - Sibelius Academy Concert Hall
Belcea Quartet
16.05.2023
18:00 Uhr
FI / Turku - Turku Cathedral
Belcea Quartet
18.05.2023
11:00 Uhr
DE / Schwetzingen - Schwetzinger Schloß Mozartsaal
Belcea Quartet
20.05.2023
20:15 Uhr
NL / Amsterdam - Het Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ' Grote Zaal
Belcea Quartet
28.05.2023
11:00 Uhr
CH / Basel - Theatre Gare du Nord
Belcea Quartet
29.05.2023
18:00 Uhr
DE / Berlin - Pierre Boulez Saal
Belcea Quartet
11.06.2023
17:00 Uhr
CH / Zürich - Tonhalle Kleiner Saal
Belcea Quartet
12.06.2023
19:30 Uhr
ES / Valladolid - Centro Cultural Miguel Delibes
Belcea Quartet
29.06.2023
19:30 Uhr
GB / East Neuk - Crail Parish Church
Belcea Quartet, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Diyang Mei, Bertrand Chamayou
30.06.2023
19:30 Uhr
GB / East Neuk - Crail Parish Church
Belcea Quartet, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Diyang Mei, Bertrand Chamayou
01.07.2023
15:00 Uhr
GB / East Neuk - Crail Parish Church
Corina Belcea, Vilde Frang, Krzysztof Chorzelski, Diyang Mei, Sofia Ros
01.07.2023
19:30 Uhr
GB / East Neuk - Crail Parish Church
Belcea Quartet, Bertrand Chamayou, Vilde Frang, Diyang Mei

Discography

The complete Warner Classics Edition 2000 - 2009
Album I
DEBUSSY, DUTILLEUX & RAVEL String Quartets

Album II
SCHUBERT String Quartets Nos. 13 “Rosamunde”, 12 “Quartettsatz” & 10

Album III
BRAHMS String Quartet No. 1 · String Quintet No. 2

Album IV
BRITTEN String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2 · 3 Divertimenti

Album V
BRITTEN String Quartet No. 3 · FAURÉ La bonne chanson · BARBER & BUTTERWORTH Songs

Album VI
SCHUBERT Piano Quintet “The Trout”

Album VII
MOZART String Quartets Nos. 19 “Dissonance” & 20 “Hoffmeister”

Album VIII
BARTÓK String Quartets Nos. 1, 3 & 5

Album IX
BARTÓK String Quartets Nos. 2, 4 & 6

Album X
SCHUBERT String Quintet · String Quartet No. 15 (I.)

Album XI
SCHUBERT String Quartets Nos. 15 (II-IV.) & 14 “Death and the Maiden”

Belcea Quartet
Corina Belcea, violin
Laura Samuel, violin (Album 1-5, 7-11)
Krzystof Chorzelski, viola
Alasdair Tait, cello (Album 1-7)
Antoine Lederlin, cello (Album 8-11)

with Thomas Kakuska, viola · Valentin Erben, cello · Thomas Adès, piano · Corin Long, double bass
Ian Bostridge, tenor · Jonathan Lemalu, bass-baritone

Janáček & Ligeti: Quartets
Leoš Janáček
String Quartet No. 1 `Kreutzer Sonata`
String Quartet No. 2 `Intimate Letters`

György Ligeti
String Quartet No. 1 `Métamorphoses Nocturnes`

Shostakovich: String Quartet & Piano Quintet
Dmitri Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 73
Piano Quintet, Op. 57

Piotr Anderszewski - Piano

Brahms: The complete String Quartets & Piano Quintet
Johannes Brahms
String Quartet, Op. 51 No. 1
String Quartet, Op. 51 No. 2

String Quartet, Op. 67 No. 3
Piano Quintet, Op. 34

Till Fellner - Piano

Webern - Berg - Schönberg
Anton Webern
Slow Movement
Five Movements for String Quartet, Op. 5

Alban Berg
Lyric Suite for String Quartet

Arnold Schönberg
Transfigured Night, Op. 4

Nicolas Bone - Viola
Antonio Meneses - Cello

Britten: The complete String Quartets (DVD or Blu-ray Disc)
Benjamin Britten
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 25
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 36
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 94

Beethoven: The complete String Quartets (DVD or Blu-ray Disc)
Ludwig van Beethoven
String Quartets Nos 1-16

Beethoven: The complete String Quartets
Ludwig van Beethoven
Disc No. 1
String Quartet, Op. 18 No. 6
String Quartet, Op. 127
Disc No. 2
String Quartet, Op. 18 No. 2
String Quartet, Op. 59 No. 3
Disc No. 3
String Quartet, Op. 95
String Quartet, Op. 131
Disc No. 4
String Quartet, Op. 18 No. 1
String Quartet, Op. 18 No. 4
Disc No. 5
String Quartet, Op. 18 No. 3
String Quartet, Op. 18 No. 5
Grosse Fuge, Op. 133
Disc No. 6
String Quartet, Op. 59 No. 1
String Quartet, Op. 59 No. 2
Disc No. 7
String Quartet, Op. 74
String Quartet, Op. 130
Disc No. 8
String Quartet, Op. 132
String Quartet, Op. 135

Schubert: String Quartets & String Quintet
Franz Schubert
String Quintet, D 956
String Quartet No. 15, D 887
String Quartet No. 14, D 810, "Death and The Maiden"

Valentin Erben - Cello

Bartók: The complete String Quartets
Béla Bartók
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7 Sz 40
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 17 Sz 67
String Quartet No. 3, Sz 80
String Quartet No. 4, Sz 91
String Quartet No. 5, Sz 102
String Quartet No. 6, Sz 114

Mozart: String Quartets
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
String Quartet, K 465
String Quartet, K 499

EMI Classics, 2006

Love blows as the wind blows
Roger Quilter
Four Shakespeare Songs, Op. 30
Who is Silvia?
When daffodils begin to peer
How should I your true love know?
Sigh no more, ladies

Samuel Barber
Dover Beach (to words from a Victorian poem by Matthew Arnold)

Benjamin Britten
Tit for Tat
A Song of Enchantment
Silver
Tit for Tat

Richard Rodney Bennett
Songs before Sleep
The Mouse and the Bumblebee (anon.)
Baby, baby, naughty baby (anon.)
As I walked by myself (attrib. Bernard Barton 1780-1840)

John Ireland
Santa Chiara - Palm Sunday; Naples
When lights go rolling round the sky

George Butterworth
Love blows as the wind blows
I In the year that's come and gone
II Life in her creaking shoes
III Fill a glass with golden wine

Gerald Finzi
Let us garlands bring - Five Shakespeare songs for Voice and Piano

William Bolcom
from Cabaret Songs
Song of Black Max (As told by the de Kooning Boys)
George
Waitin

Jonathan Lemalu - Bass baritone
Malcolm Martineau - Piano

EMI Classics, 2006

Britten: The complete String Quartets
Benjamin Britten
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 25
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 36
String Quartet No. 3, Op. 94
Three Divertimenti for String Quartet (1936)

EMI Classics, 2005

Mélodies Françaises
Claude Debussy
"Fêtes galantes"

Gabriel Fauré
4 Songs, Op. 39: Fleur jetée
3 Songs, Op. 23: Les berceaux
Au bord de l'eau, Op. 81 No. 1
2 Songs, Op. 83: Prison
Clair de lune, Op. 46 No. 2
3 Songs, Op. 18: Nell

Francis Poulence
Montparnasse (Apollinaire)
Deux poèmes de Guillaume Apollinaire, Op. 94: Dans le jardin d'Anna
Deux poèmes de Guillaume Apollinaire, Op. 94: Allons plus vite
Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon: C
Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon: Fêtes galantes
Tel jour, telle nuit: Bonne journée
Tel jour, telle nuit: Une ruine coquille vide
Tel jour, telle nuit: Le front comme un drapeau perdu
Tel jour, telle nuit: Une roulotte couverte en tuiles
Tel jour, telle nuit: A toutes brides
Tel jour, telle nuit: Une herbe pauvre
Tel jour, telle nuit: Je n'ai envie que de t'aimer
Tel jour, telle nuit: Figure de force brûlante et farouche
Tel jour, telle nuit: Nous avons fait la nuit

Gabriel Fauré
"La bonne chanson"

Ian Bostridge - Tenor
Leon Bosch - Double bass
Julius Drake - Piano

EMI Classics, 2004

Brahms: String Quartet & String Quintet
Johannes Brahms
String Quartet, Op. 51 No. 1
String Quintet, Op. 111

Thomas Kakuska - Viola

EMI Classics, 2004

Schubert: String Quartets
Franz Schubert
String Quartet No. 13, Op. 29, D 804, "Rosamunde"
String Quartet No. 10, Op. 125, D 87

EMI Classics, 2003

French Music
Claude Debussy
String Quartet, Op. 10

Henri Dutilleux
String Quartet "Ainsi la Nuit"

Maurice Ravel
String Quartet in F major

EMI Classics, 2001

Janáček: The complete String Quartets
Leoš Janáček
String Quartet No. 1, "The Kreutzer Sonata"
String Quartet No. 2, "Intimate Letters"

Videos

Belcea Quartet - Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 131
Belcea Quartet - Shostakovich String Quartet no.3

Contact

Linda Uschinski (Department Head)
t: +49 (0)30 414 781 717
f: +49 (0)30 414 781 713
Ramona Wiener
t: +49 (0)30 414 781 723
f: +49 (0)30 414 781 713