Belcea Quartet. Mozart, Szymanowski, and Schubert

“A quartet with easy access to both the East and West” joke the musicians of the Belcea Quartet, introducing their French cellist Antoine and the Swiss violinist Axel, as well as the Warsaw native - violist Krzysztof and the Romanian violinist Corina whose last name is the centerpiece in the name of the quartet. For more than 20 years, this iconic quartet has been at the pinnacle of the chamber music Olympus, rediscovering the string quartet genre as a vibrant living organism. The main ace up the sleeve of the Belcea Quartet is their indescribable yet directly perceivable ability to feel together - be it the newest contemporary piece or a classic quartet like the ones they have chosen for their second visit to Latvia. All three quartets that have been included in the programme are special in their own ways: the Polish composer Karol Szymanowski's String Quartet No. 1 creates a lasting impression on the mind with the grotesque World War I impulses, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's final quartet - No. 23 sounds like a farewell serenade of a lover of life, and Franz Schubert's Death and the Maiden surprises with its warm soul and deeply captivating intimacy, making this piece one of the jewels of the genre.

Photography - © Marco Borggreve

Programme

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, String Quartet No. 23
Karol Szymanowski, String Quartet No. 1
Franz Schubert, String Quartet No. 14 (Death and the Maiden)

Participants

Corina Belcea, First violin
Axel Schacher, Second violin
Krzysztof Chorzelski, Viola
Antoine Lederlin, Cello