Event details
Belcea String Quartet (Princeton University Concerts)
The dynamic and expressive range was vast; this was theatre in music."
– The Times
Back by popular demand for their third appearance on our series, the Belcea Quartet returns with the kind of electrifying intensity that makes time stand still. “Still playing like a young quartet, seizing the music’s energy, shocking us out of our seats” (The Guardian), this ensemble jumpstarts our 132nd Concert Classics Series with a program that pulses with boldness and invention. They trace a line from Mozart’s daring “Dissonance” Quartet to Beethoven’s final opus, where the string quartet is completely reimagined—raw, transcendent, and teetering on the edge of the unknown. Adding a jolt of the here and now is a new work by Australian composer Brett Dean, written for the Belcea Quartet. Music that questions, upends, and electrifies—played with a fire that cannot be extinguished.
Last season at Princeton University Conerts (PUC), the Belcea Quartet joined forces with the Ébène Quartet for a spectacular program of string octets. This season at PUC, we are thrilled to present each of these extraordinary ensembles in their own spotlight as the Ébène Quartet also returns on Wednesday, April 8, 2026!
This event is presented by Princeton University Concerts. Please click here for a full event listing and tickets.
Program
| Composer | Piece |
|---|---|
| MOZART | String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465 “Dissonance” |
| BRETT DEAN | New String Quartet (composed for the Belcea Quartet) |
| BEETHOVEN | String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, Op. 135 |
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