The Belcea Quartet have announced a new deal with Zig-Zag Territoires, which will see their current exploration of Beethoven’s complete string quartets captured on disc.

Having formed while at the Royal College of Music in the 1990s, the ensemble were subsequently invited to join the BBC New Generation Artist scheme, before winning the Gramophone Debut Disc award in 2001. A decade and two musician changes later, and the group, led by Corina Belcea, have developed a reputation both for acclaimed performances in the core string quartet repertoire, as well as more comtemporary music – last season they premiered a work by Mark Antony Turnage.

Until recently the Belceas were signed to EMI. The first release on Zig-Zag Territoires – scheduled for May 2012 – coincides with a of tour of Beethoven’s quartets to London’s Wigmore Hall, Aldeburgh (where the set will be recorded), Liverpool, Gateshead, Hamburg, Vienna, Schwarzenberg and Stockholm.