Belcea Quartet review – perfunctory Penderecki and poised Schubert

Wigmore Hall, LondonThe Belceas gave the premiere of Penderecki’s brief neo-Romantic Fourth String Quartet, and in two Schubert quartets, blended technical refinement with emotional extremesNo one could accuse Krzysztof Penderecki of prolixity when it comes to some of his chamber music. His Fourth String Quartet, given its world premiere by the Belcea Quartet, runs for about seven minutes, and is only fractionally shorter than his Second Quartet, with which it was in this instance juxtapos