On one of my trips to Vienna, I was introduced to the remarkable Belcea String Quartet. And it was the best sort of introduction, through their music making! The Belcea Quartet were one of the quartets in residence at the Konzerthaus Wien after the famed Alban Berg Quartet retired and disbanded. The concert that I witnessed included a Beethoven “Razumovsky” quartet, as well as an incandescent performance of the Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet with Piotr Anderszewski, and this very performance of Webern’s beautiful Langsamer Satz.
They’ve since recorded the complete Beethoven String Quartets, but like with most quartets, seeing them live is so much for gratifying.