Quatuor Diotima perform Beethoven and Ligeti

The French quartet has an unrivalled reputation for performing the music of the 20th and 21st centuries – and shining a revelatory light on Romantic repertoire that was just as original and avant-garde in its own time. Beethoven’s last quartet, with its soul-searching Cavatina and knotty Grosse Fugue, expanded the horizons of what a string quartet could be in 1826. And Ligeti’s String Quartet No. 2, emerging from ‘absolute silence’ to stretch the limits of string sonorities and textures, did the same in 1968. Both still offer challenges and ample rewards to performers and listeners today.

Quatuor Diotima’s last performance here was described as ‘a near-perfect recital’ (The Strad), and they made a definitive recording of Ligeti’s quartets in 2025 – catch them live and let them change how you listen.






Presented by the Barbican.

Part of International Ensembles.

Barbican Classical Music Programme receives major support from Marcus Margulies and additional support In Memory of John Murray.





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