This weekend will see the start of the Belcea Quartet’s Beethoven cycle.  The quartet will be playing the complete set of Beethoven string quartets at the Wigmore Hall, London, The Sage, Gateshead, St George’s Hall, Liverpool and Laeiszhalle, Hamburg.  The series will see them play multiple concerts in each of the venues over the space of the year.

Krzysztof Chorzelski from the quartet describes Beethoven’s string quartets as being ‘amongst the highest challenges for any ensemble. They’re also one of the greatest musical journeys any listener or performer can ever undertake, ranging from mighty symphonic dramas to some of the most intimate and heart-wrenching moments in all of western music.’

Since forming 18 years ago, the Belcea Quartet have established themselves as one of the most exciting quartets in Europe. Their extensive collection of highly acclaimed recordings from Mozart to Dutilleux have won them multiple awards including the Gramophone Award for best debut album in 2001.

To compliment the concert series, the quartet will be recording the full Beethoven cycle, planned for release in December 2012. The  cycle will be the ensemble’s first live recording – previous studio recording of Bartok’s String Quartets saw the Belcea Quartet awarded the title of Chamber Music Ensemble of the Year by Germanys’ prestigious Echo Kassik Award and nominated for a 2008 Gramophone Award.

The concert’s start in Hamburg on Sunday and come to London’s Wigmore Hall on Monday evening.  Having formed in London and been resident quartet at the Wigmore Hall for 5 years running, the quartet are always delighted to play there and describe it as home.

Read Krzysztof’s Beethoven Blog on their Facebook page

Tickets for the concerts are available at:

http://www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/

http://www.thesagegateshead.org/

http://www.stgeorgesliverpool.co.uk/

http://www.elbphilharmonie.de/