BELCEA QUARTET, WILTON CHURCH

PASSIONATE and brilliant are two words that spring to mind after listening to the Belcea Quartet on Saturday evening in the beautiful surroundings of Wilton parish church.

They came with the reputation of being one of the world's leading chamber ensembles and the capacity audience was left in no doubt that the label was well justified.

The programme of Haydn's String Quartet in G Major, Elgar's String Quartet in E Minor and, for the second half, Beethoven's String Quartet in F Major gave the four musicians the opportunity to show why they are in such demand at venues all over the world. The concert was one of the highlights of this year's Salisbury International Arts Festival and the evening was sponsored by Friends Provident, the Salisbury-based company that has backed the festival now for more than 20 years.

Although Friends Provident brought along a large contingent of invited guests, there were few, if any, spare seats in the church, as music lovers across the region snapped up the chance to see and hear the quartet making their first appearance at the festival.

The applause at the conclusion of what was a most enjoyable evening must have left festival organisers in little doubt that the Belcea should be invited to return to Salisbury.

- Roland Batten