DAILY CAMERA: Takács Quartet founder returns to Boulder after 20 years

Gabor Takács-Nagy (an original member of the Takacs Quartet) expects his return to Boulder to be a cathartic experience.

The Irish Chamber Orchestra’s return is by popular demand. The fact that its conductor for the current tour has such a legacy in Boulder is an almost unbelievable bonus.

…Gabor Takács-Nagy (an original member of the Takács Quartet) expects his return to Boulder to be a cathartic experience. He does admit to nervousness, although he expressed great excitement that his former colleagues would be in the hall.

…”We are playing Haydn’s F-minor symphony (No. 49), which was written on Hungarian soil,” Takács-Nagy said. “It’s full of contrasting elements, passion and drama.”

The other orchestral work is from Hungary’s greatest composer, Bartók’s Divertimento for String Orchestra.

“Bartók’s music is always full of unexpected surprises,” Takács-Nagy said, noting that during his time with the quartet, Haydn and Bartók were on almost every concert program.

Another Hungarian, cellist István Várdai, joins the ICO for two concertos, one of which is also by Haydn, his first in C major. Várdai also plays a concerto in A major by Carl Philip Emanuel Bach (son of Johann Sebastian and a bridge composer between the baroque and classical eras).

“He is a fantastic young cellist,” Takács-Nagy said, “and these two classical-style works suit him perfectly. The whole program is dynamic, with powerful contrasts.”

As for the continued success of the quartet he founded, Takács-Nagy couldn’t be more thrilled.

Continue reading this concert preview by Kelly Dean Hansen in the Daily Camera.