By Nancy Plum

Princeton University Concerts opened its 2025-26 Concert Classics Series last week with a performance of the internationally-renowned Belcea String Quartet. Returning for their third appearance with Princeton University Concerts, violinists Corina Belcea and Suyeon Kang, violist Krzysztof Chorzelski and cellist Antoine Lederlin explored the revolutionary aspects of late 18th and early 19th-century chamber music, together with a contemporary work written expressly for them. Thursday night’s concert in Richardson Auditorium showed the ensemble’s tremendous cohesion, along with its ability to create a unique performing experience.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 1785 String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, subtitled “Dissonance,” was an homage to Franz Joseph Haydn and a particular tribute to Haydn’s “Russian” quartets of 1781. Haydn’s quartets of that period began the compositional move away from a genre featuring the first violin with string accompaniment to works in which all instruments were independent and individual voices. Quartet No. 19 was the last of Mozart’s six “Haydn” quartets and derived its nickname from its unorthodox chromatic “Adagio” introduction. So foreign were these passages to 18th-century ears that performers thought Mozart had made uncharacteristic errors, and even Haydn commented, “If Mozart wrote it, he must have meant it.”

The Belcea musicians began the quartet with a steady pulse from cellist Lederlin while the upper strings built intensity through the unusual harmonies. The Quartet launched into the subsequent “Allegro” energetically, well emphasizing the dramatic sforzandi. The musicians immediately showed themselves to possess a smoothly-gelled sound, with contrasts in dynamics and a bit of sauciness to the music.

This Quartet was clearly composed for the enjoyment of the players as well as the audience. An operatic poignancy could be heard in the second movement “Andante,” with particularly sensitive playing from Lederlin. Second violinist Kang seemed to lean into her colleagues for effective communication throughout, with first violinist Belcea demonstrating lithe dexterity in the fast-moving closing movement.

With a longstanding commitment to contemporary music, the Belcea Quartet has made many friends among national and international composers. Australian Brett Dean created a piece specifically for the Quartet, paying tribute to the ensemble’s past and future. String Quartet No. 4 (“A Little Book of Prayers”) both honored the memory of the Quartet’s founding second violinist and welcomed current second violinist Kang. The five-movement quartet was rooted in sacred and secular prayer, as well as a 19th-century gospel tune, with especially prominent second violin lines.

The reflective first movement “Petition” began with a cello melody high in the instrument’s register, followed by melodic passages from viola and first violin. The Quartet easily switched between pizzicato and bowed playing in the quick second movement “Speaking in Tongues,” and deftly maneuvered the work’s shifting meters and jagged dynamics. Dean’s Quartet included numerous slides up and down scales, with spaces in the music for dramatic effect.

The Belcea Quartet has had an extended worldwide history with the string quartets of Ludwig van Beethoven over the past decades. Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16 in F Major, dating from 1826, was the last of the composer’s late quartets and has remained a subject of scholarly debate over written inscriptions in the music. The Belcea players began with considerable dialog among the instruments contained within a gentle “Allegretto.” Beethoven was known for breaking rules of musical composition, one of which was the tradition that second movements should be lyrical and songlike. The “Vivace” second movement of this quartet was full of well-executed driving rhythms and relentless intensity.

Beethoven saved gentleness for the third movement, which opened with hymn-like playing led by a poignant melody from first violinist Belcea. One of the strengths of this ensemble has been its ability to switch dynamic gears in the music — well evident in a tension-filled fourth movement. Passages were also marked by graceful pizzicato playing against a violin melody as the Belcea players brought Beethoven’s Quartet and the concert to a joyful close.

Princeton University Concerts will present its next musical event on Sunday, November 2 at 3 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium with a performance by the Richardson Chamber Players. “A Little Night Music” will feature music of Gustav Mahler, Clancy Newman, and Arnold Schoenberg. Ticket information can be obtained by visiting concerts.princeton.edu.