The Belcea Quartet has established itself in the last quarter-century as one of the world’s most celebrated chamber-music ensembles. Founded in 1994 and mentored by members of the Alban Berg and Amadeus Quartets, the ensemble brings together musicians of very different artistic provenance: the Romanian violinist Corina Belcea, The Korean-Australian Suyeon Kang on second violin, the Polish violist Krzysztof Chorzelski, and the French cellist Antoine Lederlin. This diversity is reflected in the Belcea Quartet’s repertoire. Its performances of world-premieres of new works go hand-in-hand with its profound connection with the great works of the Classical and Romantic periods.

The ensemble’s repertoire spans Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven to Bartok, Janacek to Szymanowski. They also continue to introduce new works by current composers to the audience such as Guillaume Connesson (2023), Joseph Phibbs (2018), Krzysztof Penderecki (2016), Thomas Larcher (2015) and Mark-Anthony Turnage (2014 & 2010).

In addition to the complete recordings of the String Quartets by Bartók, Beethoven, Brahms (Diapason d’or de l’année 2016) and Britten, the quartet’s wide-ranging discography includes works by Berg, Dutilleux, Mozart, Schoenberg, Schubert, Shostakovich, Janáček and Ligeti (among others). In spring 2022, Alpha Classics released the two String Sextets by Brahms performed with Tabea Zimmermann and Jean-Guihen Queyras.

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 has held the prestigious position of Ensemble in Residence at the Pierre Boulez Hall in Berlin. In addition, the quartet last season became a partner ensemble at the Vienna Konzerthaus, where they have been a familiar presence for the best part of two decades.