Takács Quartet kicks off virtuosic season
Upcoming Takács concerts feature “music we adore.”
The Grammy Award-winning Takács Quartet—in-residence at CU-Boulder and the first string quartet to be awarded the Wigmore Hall Medal—is gearing up for another characteristically virtuosic and musically gratifying season featuring a selection of composers’ late works.
“We can’t wait to perform late Haydn and Shostakovich in September, along with Dvořák’s last string quartet,” says cellist András Fejer. “Also in the first half of the season, we’re including Brahms’ flowing and rhythmic String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat Major, Op. 67—another late work.
“This is music we adore. We love the process of returning to old favorites with renewed energy and expectations.”
Indeed, the quartet—in its 40th season—last performed Dvořák’s string quartet some 30 years ago. “It’s exhilarating to work with material that’s familiar in our hands, and reshape it into something new,” Fejer adds. “We already know the rip currents and potential pitfalls from both technical and musical perspectives. Hopefully, we’ve gained the wisdom to navigate these musical landscapes and more fully reveal the beauty that lies within.”
Alongside Fejer, the Takács Quartet comprises first violinist Edward Dusinberre, second violinist Károly Schranz and violist Geraldine Walther. The chamber quartet performed some 80 concerts worldwide in the past year, coached and presented master classes in North America and Europe, and taught chamber music and individual lessons to students in Boulder.
Two sets of Takács performances at the College of Music’s Grusin Music Hall are Sunday, Sept. 20 at 4 p.m. and Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 8 at 4 p.m. and Monday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Also featured as part of the Takács Quartet series are performances by the Attacca Quartet on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
The Attacca Quartet is one of North America’s premier young ensembles—its multiple honors include first prize in the 7thOsaka International Chamber Music Competition and the Listener’s Choice Award recipients in the 2011 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. The New York Times described quartet’s “Fellow Traveler: The Complete String Quartet Works of John Adams” as “exuberant, funky…and exactingly nuanced.”
Tickets start at $20.