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