The well-known Belcea Quartet will perform composer Beethoven’s symphonies at the Peterhouse Theatre, on November 25th, 2011. The Belcea Quartet has gained fame and a desirable reputation throughout the years and it is considered one of the leading quartets of the new generation. They constantly receive critical acclaim for their performances; the group was established at the Royal College of Music in 1994 and has since been coached by the Chilingirian, Amadeus, and Alban Berg Quartets.

The Belcea Quartet has an exclusive recording contract with EMI Classics and has won the Grampphone Award for best debut recording in 2001. Their international engagements frequently take them to the Vienna Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Brussels’ Palais des Beaux Arts, Lisbon’s Gulbenkian, Zurich’s Tonhalle, Stockholm’s Konzerthuset, Paris’ Chatelet and Opera Bastille, Milan’s Sala Verdi, New York’s Carnegie Hall Lincoln Center, and San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre; festivals include Luberon, Instanbul, Trondheim, Lausanne, Salzburg, Mecklenburg, and the Schwarzenberg Schubertiade.

In the United Kingdom they regularly appear at the Edinburgh, Aldeburgh, Perth, Bath, and Cheltenham festivals, and the Wigmore Hall where they were resident Quartet from 2001 to 2006.

Listeners can only be amazed when the musicians play their instruments; it is an exciting musical experience appreciated by many people who have already witnessed the group’s cleverness and talent. The obvious harmony between the individuals and their instruments is spectacular!

The Belcea Quartet brings all their great commitment, power, and technical skills; the dynamic and the expressive range are enormous, as the instruments not only play the music but they also scratch and clang. The Quartet is able to interpret music that has both a rhythmic edge and a complex range of colors, as the music changes from slow melodies to a more rhythmic music.

The Belcea Quartet has worked with leading instrumentalists such as Thomas Adès, Isabel van Keulen, Michael Collins, Paul Lewis, Imogen Cooper, Yovan Markovitch, Natalie Clein, Piotr Anderszewski, and Valentin Erben. Recent collaborations with singer have also included performances with Ann Murray and Simon Keenlyside.

The concert is expected to be remarkable and unforgettable; tickets are already available online and at the theater. They are free only to the Members of the Peterhouse Theatre.