April 1, 2008
Belcea String Quartet
Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 20, No. 4
Bartók: String Quartet, No. 3
Britten: String Quartet, No. 3
About the Artists
The Belcea Quartet has gained an enviable reputation as one of the leading quartets of the new generation. They continue to take the British and international chamber music circuit by storm, consistently receiving critical acclaim for their performances. Since the autumn of 2001 they have been the Resident Quartet of Wigmore Hall and have embarked on an exclusive recording contract with EMI Classics.
In 2001 the Quartet won the Gramophone Award for the best debut recording. Subsequent recordings for EMI include Schubert quartets, Brahms’ String Quartet Op. 51 No. 1 and second string quintet with Thomas Kakuska, Fauré La Bonne Chanson with Ian Bostridge, Schubert’s Trout Quintet with Thomas Ades and Corin Long, a double disc of Britten’s string quartets and most recently Mozart’s “Dissonance” and “Hoffmeister” quartets.
Since collaborating with Yvonne Kenny, Mark Padmore and London Winds for The Turn of the Screw at the Cheltenham Festival in July 2004, their growing collaboration with singers includes Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Ann Murray and Simon Keenlyside (in an arrangement for small ensemble), Schoenberg’s 2nd String Quartet and a new commission by Joseph Phibbs for string quartet and voice, both with Lisa Milne. The Belcea Quartet’s past collaborations at the Wigmore Hall have included Isabelle van Keulen, Piotr Anderszewski, Thomas Ades and Huw Watkins. Their festival appearances include Aldeburgh, Petworth, Bath, Schubertiade, Delft, Luberon, Istanbul, Trondheim, Edinburgh and Salzburg.
Highlights of the 2005 / 06 season include collaborations with: Valentin Erbin, Lisa Milne and Imogen Cooper at Wigmore Hall; Angelika Kirchschlager at the Langeland Festival; Ian Bostridge at New York’s Zankel Hall and Washington’s Library of Congress; Yovan Markovitch at the Schubertiade, Schwarzenberg; Alexei Orgrintchouk at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Piotr Anderszewski in Spain, and Anne Sofie von Otter and Bengt Forsberg at the Cité de la Musique, Paris. They also appear at the Perth International Arts Festival, make two tours of the United States and continue their involvement in Wigmore Hall’s extensive education programme.
The Belcea Quartet was established at the Royal College Music in 1994, where they were coached by the Chilingirian Quartet, Simon Rowland-Jones and the Amadeus Quartet. From 1997-2000, they were represented by Young Concert Artists Trust in London, during which time they were coached by the Alban Berg Quartet, won first prize at both the Osaka and Bordeaux International String Quartet Competitions in 1999 and represented Great Britain in the European Concert Halls Organisation “Rising Stars” series for the 1999/2000 season. The Quartet was one of the selected artists for the BBC Radio 3 “New Generations” scheme from 1999-2001. The Belcea Quartet is supported by Rosalind and Brian Gilmore and the Royal College of Music’s New Generation Scheme. They received the Chamber Music Award of the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2001 and 2003.
March 2006The Belcea Quartet has gained an enviable reputation as one of the leading quartets of the new generation. They continue to take the British and international chamber music circuit by storm, consistently receiving critical acclaim for their performances. Since the autumn of 2001 they have been the Resident Quartet of Wigmore Hall and have embarked on an exclusive recording contract with EMI Classics.
In 2001 the Quartet won the Gramophone Award for the best debut recording. Subsequent recordings for EMI include Schubert quartets, Brahms’ String Quartet Op. 51 No. 1 and second string quintet with Thomas Kakuska, Fauré La Bonne Chanson with Ian Bostridge, Schubert’s Trout Quintet with Thomas Ades and Corin Long, a double disc of Britten’s string quartets and most recently Mozart’s “Dissonance” and “Hoffmeister” quartets.
Since collaborating with Yvonne Kenny, Mark Padmore and London Winds for The Turn of the Screw at the Cheltenham Festival in July 2004, their growing collaboration with singers includes Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Ann Murray and Simon Keenlyside (in an arrangement for small ensemble), Schoenberg’s 2nd String Quartet and a new commission by Joseph Phibbs for string quartet and voice, both with Lisa Milne. The Belcea Quartet’s past collaborations at the Wigmore Hall have included Isabelle van Keulen, Piotr Anderszewski, Thomas Ades and Huw Watkins. Their festival appearances include Aldeburgh, Petworth, Bath, Schubertiade, Delft, Luberon, Istanbul, Trondheim, Edinburgh and Salzburg.
Highlights of the 2005 / 06 season include collaborations with: Valentin Erbin, Lisa Milne and Imogen Cooper at Wigmore Hall; Angelika Kirchschlager at the Langeland Festival; Ian Bostridge at New York’s Zankel Hall and Washington’s Library of Congress; Yovan Markovitch at the Schubertiade, Schwarzenberg; Alexei Orgrintchouk at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Piotr Anderszewski in Spain, and Anne Sofie von Otter and Bengt Forsberg at the Cité de la Musique, Paris. They also appear at the Perth International Arts Festival, make two tours of the United States and continue their involvement in Wigmore Hall’s extensive education programme.
The Belcea Quartet was established at the Royal College Music in 1994, where they were coached by the Chilingirian Quartet, Simon Rowland-Jones and the Amadeus Quartet. From 1997-2000, they were represented by Young Concert Artists Trust in London, during which time they were coached by the Alban Berg Quartet, won first prize at both the Osaka and Bordeaux International String Quartet Competitions in 1999 and represented Great Britain in the European Concert Halls Organisation “Rising Stars” series for the 1999/2000 season. The Quartet was one of the selected artists for the BBC Radio 3 “New Generations” scheme from 1999-2001. The Belcea Quartet is supported by Rosalind and Brian Gilmore and the Royal College of Music’s New Generation Scheme. They received the Chamber Music Award of the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2001 and 2003.