Belcea Quartet

As he prepared to write the string quartet that would become his Opus 132, Beethoven fell dangerously ill. He pressed on, and soon – against quite worrying odds – he began to recover. ‘Finding new strength’ he wrote above the Quartet’s tentatively building chorale: this was Beethoven’s ‘holy song of thanksgiving’ for his health, and we feel it keenly in the calm, grateful power of the music that flows forth.