The Belcea Quartet captivates listeners with its dark, seductive and sensuous sound. Founded in 1994, it is one of today’s leading string quartets. The secret of its success? “We continually rethink the works,” says second violinist Axel Schacher. During this programme two first works, which already demonstrate the absolute mastery of their composers, are combined with a late work: the first string quartets by Johannes Brahms and Benjamin Britten flank Dmitri Shostakovich’s opus 142, which already evokes dying and death.