Carnegie Hall

Known for “Mozart playing of exemplary poise, polish, and intelligence” (The Strad), the Belcea Quartet opens this performance with the composer’s well-loved “Dissonance” Quartet. Despite its generally sunny disposition, audiences were flabbergasted by the work’s namesake-inspiring opening measures. Notable exceptions, however—like Haydn, for whom the piece was composed—would find good company among today’s listeners, who delight in its resplendent, unusual introduction. Also featured is the bittersweet, final complete opus by Beethoven, whose music became “an all-consuming passion” during the Belcea Quartet’s award-winning recording cycle of his quartets. Plus, hear a world premiere by Brett Dean, former Berliner Philharmoniker violist and composer of “fertile imagination, originality, and expressive subtlety" (Chicago Tribune).