Sat 24 Jan 2026 20:15 - 22:10
Opening concert String Quartet Biennale 2026
Belcea Quartet + Tabea Zimmermann
From Tue 25 Mar 2025 12:00
Tabea Zimmermann (photo Marco Borggreve)

Opening concert String Quartet Biennale 2026

Belcea Quartet + Tabea Zimmermann
Sat 24 Jan 2026 20:15 - 22:10
Sat 24 Jan 2026
20:15 - 22:10
  • Sat 24 Jan 2026
    20:15 - 22:10
    Grote Zaal
    From Tue 25 Mar 2025 12:00

Program

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart String Quartet No. 19 ‘Dissonance’
Brett Dean New composition (Dutch premiere)*
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart String Quintet No. 4

Credits

Belcea Quartet:
Corina Belcea violin
Suyeon Kang violin
Krzysztof Chorzelski viola
Antoine Lederlin cello

Tabea Zimmermann viola

Grand musicians in brilliant repertoire

The festive fifth edition of the String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam kicks off with grandiose musicians and brilliant repertoire. When Haydn heard Mozart’s Nineteenth String Quartet, he judged that his colleague was ‘in all honesty the greatest composer of them all’ - the lightly rubbing opening bars did nothing to change that. Whether Brett Dean uses more dissonance than Mozart we do not yet know. What is certain is that the Belcea Quartet is as well versed in the Viennese Classics as it is in new works.

In his moving Fourth String Quintet, Mozart explores regions he had not visited before. The quintet, in the serious key of g minor, is a highlight of Mozart’s oeuvre. None other than Tabea Zimmermann joins the Belcea Quartet with her glowing viola sound for a performance of this deeply emotional work.

*Co-commission with Carnegie Hall, Wiener Konzerthaus, Kölner Philharmonie, Biennale de quatuors à cordes and Ukaria Cultural Centre