The Belcea Quartet – formed in England in 1994 – is a string quartet co-founded and led by Romanian violinist Corina Belcea (born in 1975). The quartet was co-founded by Polish violist Krzysztof Chorzelski (born in 1971) and came together while the members were still students at the Royal College of Music in London. Since their formation, the Belcea Quartet has blended its diverse influences into a common musical language that draws from the best traditions of string quartets that they inherited from their mentors the Alban Berg and Amadeus Quartets. They were one of the first quartets to perform in the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists (NGA) scheme between 1999 and 2001. They debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2000 and made their first Edinburgh International Festival appearance the following year. Throughout the next two decades, they appeared at many festivals around the world, performing classic compositions and new works from the likes of Mark Anthony Turnage and Joseph Phibbs. Over the course of their career, the Belcea Quartet has recorded the complete Beethoven, Britten and Bartók quartets alongside works composed by Schubert, Brahms, Mozart, Debussy, Ravel and Dutilleux, and others. Their large catalog includes Schubert: String Quartets (2002), Mozart: String Quartets (2006), and the compilation Beethoven: The Complete String Quartets (2014).
