Gábor Takács-Nagy (born 17 April 1956,''International Who's Who in Classical Music'' (25th edition). Routledge (London), p. 807 (2009) ().

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

), is a Hungarian violinist and conductor. He began violin studies at age 8. He attended the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music ( hu, Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the ...

, where he won the

Jenő Hubay Jenő Hubay, Jenő Hubay von Szalatna, hu, szalatnai Hubay Jenő (; 15 September 185812 March 1937), also known by his German name Eugen Huber (), was a Hungarian violinist, composer and music teacher. Early life Hubay was born into a Ger ...

prize. His teachers at the Liszt Academy included

Ferenc Rados Ferenc Rados (born 26 October 1934, in Budapest) is a Hungarian pianist and professor of piano and chamber music. Until 1996, he taught at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary. After retiring, he gave master classes in Europe and ...

András Mihály András Mihály �ɒndraːʃ ˈmihaːj(6 November 1917 – 19 September 1993) was a Hungarian cellist, composer and academic teacher. Life Mihály was born in Budapest. He studied there at the Franz Liszt Academy: cello with Adolf Schiffer, ch ...

, and

György Kurtág György Kurtág (; born 19 February 1926) is a Hungarian classical composer and pianist. He was an academic teacher of piano at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music from 1967, later also of chamber music, and taught until 1993. Biography György ...

. In 1975, Takács-Nagy, Károly Schranz, Gábor Ormai and

András Fejér András Fejér (born 1955) is a Hungarian cellist. He is a member of the Takács Quartet, having founded it with three classmates at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest] in 1975. He was born into a musical family and became familiar w ...

founded the

Takács Quartet The Takács Quartet is a string quartet founded in Budapest, Hungary, and now based in Boulder, Colorado, United States. History In 1975, four students at the Music Academy in Budapest, Gábor Takács-Nagy (first violin), Károly Schranz (seco ...

. The quartet recorded for the

Hungaroton Hungaroton is the oldest record and music publisher company in Hungary. Hungaroton was founded in 1951, when its only competitors in the Hungarian music market were record labels like Melodiya, Supraphon and from other socialist countries. Pre ...

and Decca labels. Takács-Nagy left the group in 1992 after developing hand stress, which forced him to stop playing the violin, and personal tensions arose within the quartet after it emigrated from Hungary to the United States. After he left the quartet, Takács-Nagy underwent musical therapy and resumed playing the violin. In 1996, Takács-Nagy founded the Takács Piano Trio with Dénes Várjon (piano) and Péter Szabo (cello). He also became concertmaster of the

Budapest Festival Orchestra The Budapest Festival Orchestra ( Hungarian: ''Budapesti Fesztiválzenekar'') was formed in 1983 by Iván Fischer and Zoltán Kocsis, with musicians "drawn from the cream of Hungary's younger players", as ''The Times'' put it. Its aim was to mak ...

. In 1997, he joined the faculty of the

Conservatoire de Musique de Genève A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

as Professor of String Quartet. In 1998, he established the Mikrokosmos String Quartet with Zoltán Tuska (second violin), Sándor Papp (viola) and Miklós Perényi (cello). Takács-Nagy also began to develop an interest in conducting. In 2005, he formed the string orchestra Camerata Bellerive, as a resident ensemble at the Festival de Bellerive in Geneva, where he has served as co-artistic director. In 2007, he became

Music Director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

of the

Verbier Festival The Verbier Festival is an annual international music festival that takes place for two weeks in late July and early August in the mountain resort of Verbier, Switzerland. Founded by Swedish expatriate in 1994, it has attracted international so ...

Chamber Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the

Hungarian State Symphony The Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra ( hu, Nemzeti Filharmonikus Zenekar; formerly, the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, hu, Magyar Állami Hangversenyzenekar) is one of the most prestigious symphony orchestras in Hungary. Based in t ...

and of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra. In 2010, he became chief conductor and

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

of the MÁV Symphony Orchestra. He became principal guest conductor of the

effective with the 2012/2013 season. In 2010, the

Manchester Camerata The Manchester Camerata is a British chamber orchestra based in Manchester, England. A sub-group from the orchestra, the Manchester Camerata Ensemble, specialises in chamber music performances. The orchestra's primary concert venue is The Bridg ...

announced the appointment of Takács-Nagy as its fifth principal conductor, effective with the 2011-2012 season, with an initial contract of three years, leading 12 concerts per year. He has recorded with the Manchester Camerata commercially for the Avie label. He became a principal artistic partner of the

Irish Chamber Orchestra The Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) is an Irish classical music ensemble, administratively based at the University of Limerick. János Fürst founded the ICO in 1963. The ICO consisted only of strings as its regular ensemble for many years, adding wi ...

in 2013. Takács-Nagy has held the International Chair in Chamber Music at the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

. He married Lesley de Senger (''née'' Townson), a native of

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

, in 1991. They have two daughters.

References

External links

*
Manchester Camerata page on Takács-Nagy

European Chamber Music Academy biography of Takács-Nagy

Royal Northern College of Music biography of Takács-Nagy

Bellerive Festival French-language page on Takács-Nagy
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Takacs-Nagy, Gabor Hungarian classical violinists Male classical violinists Hungarian conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Concertmasters Hungarian music educators 1956 births Living people Musicians from Budapest 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century Hungarian male musicians