MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: String Quartet No 1 / String Quintet No 2

Editor's Choice Gramophone Magazine (April 2004)

"Fast becoming one of the most sought-after quartets of the younger generation (with a Gramophone Début Disc Award to its name), the Belcea Quartet take on two works by Brahms - one from 1873 and the other from later in his life. As if to signal the eventual passing of the torch within EMI's artist roster from the distinguished Alban Berg Quartet to the young Belceas, Thomas Kakuska, the ABQ's distinguished viola player, takes on the role of guest."
(Gramophone)

The Belcea Quartet's first CD for EMI, of quartets by Debussy, Ravel and Dutilleux, was released on Debut in autumn 2000. Reviews were full of praise: 'fabulous' (Classic FM), 'outstanding' (The Guardian), 'impressed by the freshness and urgency of their playing' (BBC Music Magazine). The disc also won a coveted Gramophone Award in October 2001.

EMI Classics then signed this young ensemble exclusively to the label, and they followed up their Debut recording with an equally well-received disc of Schubert string quartets (557 4192).

Their latest recording is of Brahms's String Quartet No.1 and String Quintet No.2. Joining them in the quintet is the illustrious viola player of the Alban Berg Quartett, Thomas Kakuska, with whom the Belceas trained in their early years.