Cancelled: Belcea Quartet

The spectacular quartet plays Britten, Shostakovich and Joseph Phibbs.

London-born Joseph Phibbs has been described as one of his generation’s most successful composers. His orchestral pieces have been conducted by, among others, Gianandrea Noseda and Esa-Pekka Salonen, and his oeuvre includes three string quartets to date. In 2018, the Belcea Quartet gave the world premiere of Phibbs’ String Quartet No. 3 at Carnegie Hall. Now Konserthuset’s audience has the chance to hear this piece, which is included on the evening’s programme.

The Belcea Quartet formed in London in 1994, but the four members are from Romania, Poland, and France, giving the ensemble a blend of cultural backgrounds. This diversity is evident in the quartet’s repertoire, which ranges from the classic era to world premieres of new compositions. In slightly more than 25 years as an ensemble, they have performed on all the major stages worldwide.

The quartet will also play Benjamin Britten’s String Quartet No. 1 from 1941, a piece with which he was quite satisfied and even considered his best work to date. In 1972, Britten was visited at his home in the idyllic little town of Aldeburgh by Dmitri Shostakovich. While Shostakovich was there, he began to compose his String Quartet in F-sharp Major, which we will hear after the intermission. It is dedicated to the cellist of the Beethoven Quartet, which explains the prominent role of the cello in the piece.