Belcea Quartet performs Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge op.133

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Watch the Belcea Quartet perform the behemoth of string quartet repertoire that is Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge op.133. 

The performance was recorded on 23 February 2021 at Musik- und Kulturzentrum Don Bosco Basel, Paul Sacher Saal.

The Belcea’s violist violist Krzysztof Chorzelski will provide a two-part Masterclass series on the work, the first of which features in The Strad’s January 2023 magazine. ’Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge op.133 continues to confound and challenge,’ says Chorzelski in his Masterclass introduction.

’For all its rigour and formality, this is not a normal fugue. Usually the aim when playing a fugue is to bring out certain elements and make sure the texture is clear and understandable for the listener. To do that here would be contrary to the nature of this music, which is about being on the brink of coherence.’

The Belcea Quartet comprises violinists Corina Belcea and Axel Schacher, cellist Antoine Lederlin and Chrozelski.

Check out the first installment of Chrozelski’s Masterclass in our January 2023 magazine, out now.