Belcea Quartet, The Sage Gateshead

The Belcea Quartet returned to The Sage Gateshead to continue their ongoing Beethoven cycle with a scorching performance that takes them half way to their final destination. Following the usual format, they presented works from the composer's early, middle and late period, respectively, starting with a clean-cut rendition of Quartet No 2 in G (Op 18 No 2). The Haydnesque strains were conveyed with a playful wit and the short allegro given an added zip. The quartet's unique chemistry, with each player feeding off the other to generate a sizzling organic whole, was used with telling effect in the lively conversation running through the work. The opening chords of the Quartet No 8 in E Minor (Op 59 No 2) Razumovsky were delivered with a confident bite. First violinist Corina Belcea-Fisher went on to explore the ensuing themes with feisty bowing, while drawing out the sweetest of singing tones in the adagio. Second violin Axel Schacher provided a sympathetic foil, while Krzysztof Chorzelski extracted delicious woody hues from his viola. Cellist Antoine Lederlin's playing was warm when required, but positively growled in its angry outbursts. The evening's recital ended with the Quartet in C Sharp Minor (Op 131); a formidable work comprising seven sections welded together into a seamless movement of about 45 minutes. The thread of the opening adagio was spun out with supreme sensitivity, with its expanding fugal layers developed into music of subliminal beauty. A blistering presto with flawless pizzicato passages had the blood racing, while the whole ended in a swirling climax. The three rapturous curtain calls were well-deserved.