The Takács Quartet is a string quartet founded in

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 ...

, Hungary, and now based in Boulder, Colorado, United States.

History

In 1975, four students at the

Music Academy The Music Academy is a classical music training program in Montecito in Santa Barbara County, California. Overview The academy hosts an annual eight-week summer music festival, highlighted by concerts and workshops directed by famous composer ...

Gábor Takács-Nagy Gábor Takács-Nagy (born 17 April 1956,''International Who's Who in Classical Music'' (25th edition). Routledge (London), p. 807 (2009) (). Budapest), is a Hungarian violinist and conductor. He began violin studies at age 8. He attended the Franz ...

(first

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

), Károly Schranz (second violin), Gábor Ormai (

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

), 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 ...

(

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

) formed the Takács Quartet. Takács-Nagy, Ormai and Fejér had been playing trios together for several months when they met Schranz during a pickup soccer game after classes. With his immediate addition to the group, the trio became a quartet. The quartet first received international attention in 1977, winning the First Prize and the Critics' Prize at the International String Quartet Competition in

Évian-les-Bains Évian-les-Bains (), or simply Évian ( frp, Èvian, , or ), is a commune in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. In 2018, it had a population of 9,100. A high-market holid ...

, France. After that, the quartet won the Gold Medal at the 1979

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and Bordeaux Competitions and First Prizes at the Budapest International String Quartet Competition in 1978 and the Bratislava Competition in 1981. The quartet made its first North American tour in 1982. In 1983, the group decided it would be best for them and their families if they moved to the United States. A colleague offered them a position as quartet-in-residence at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sy ...

, and they accepted the job. In 1993, Takács-Nagy left the group, and the British violinist Edward Dusinberre replaced him. In 1994, Ormai learned that he had incurable cancer, and was replaced by another British musician, violist Roger Tapping. Following these changes, the quartet embarked on a successful series of recordings: a cycle of all six Bartók quartets (dedicated to the memory of Ormai, who died in 1995) and a critically acclaimed complete

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

quartet cycle, as well as quartets by Smetana and

Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin ( rus, link=no, Александр Порфирьевич Бородин, Aleksandr Porfir’yevich Borodin , p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲi rʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin, a=RU-Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.ogg, ...

. In 2005, following the completion of the Beethoven cycle, Tapping retired from the group to spend more time with his family. He now teaches chamber music at the New England Conservatory. His replacement was Geraldine Walther, an American violist who until then been principal violist of the San Francisco Symphony. The quartet's members and critics remarked on how quickly she fitted into the ensemble. Also in 2005, the quartet became associate artists at the

South Bank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...

. In 2006, they released their first recording with Walther, of

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

's ''Rosamunde'' and ''Death and the Maiden'' quartets. This was also their first recording with

Hyperion Records Hyperion Records is an independent British classical record label. History Hyperion is an independent British classical label that was established in 1980 with the goal of showcasing recordings of music in all genres and from all time period ...

, after switching from the

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

label. Schranz retired from the quartet in 2018 and was replaced by University of Colorado faculty member Harumi Rhodes. In 2019, violist Walther announced her retirement from the quartet. She was replaced in 2020 by American violist Richard O'Neill.

Current members

* Edward Dusinberre, first violin (since 1993) *Harumi Rhodes, second violin (since 2018) *Richard O'Neill, viola (since 2020) *

, cello (original member)

Past members

, first violin (1975–1993) * Gábor Ormai, viola (1975–1994) *Roger Tapping, viola (1994–2005) * Geraldine Walther, viola (2005–2020) * Károly Schranz, second violin (1975–2018)

Awards and recognition

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance The Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance was awarded from 1959 to 2011. The award was discontinued in 2012 in a major overhaul of Grammy categories; since 2012, recordings in this category have fallen under the Best Small Ensemble Perfor ...

: Andrew Keener (producer), Simon Dominic Eadon (engineer) and the Takács Quartet for ''Beethoven: String Quartets ("Razumovsky" Op. 59, 1–3; "Harp" Op. 74)'' ( 2003) The quartet "has been recording the complete Beethoven quartets, and their survey, now complete, stands as the most richly expressive modern account of this titanic cycle." ( Alex Ross, writing in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', February 6, 2006). The Takács Quartet's interpretation of Bartók's six string quartets has been praised. The quartet was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance for its recording of

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

's String Quartet, Op. 51, No. 2, on the Hyperion label. In 2010, the quartet was honored for Excellence in Research and Creative Work by the Boulder Faculty Assembly at the University of Colorado.

Selected discography

* Bartók: The Six String Quartets (Decca 289 455 297-2) (1998). Gramophone Award Winner, Best Chamber Music Recording * Beethoven: The Early Quartets: Op. 18, Nos. 1–6 (Decca 000186402) (2004) * Beethoven: The Late Quartets: Op. 95; Op. 127; Op. 130; Op. 131; Op. 132; Op. 133; Op. 135 (Decca 000387502) (2005) * Beethoven: The three "Rasumovsky" Quartets, Op. 59; the "Harp" Quartet, Op. 74 (Decca 470 847-2 3 DH2) (2002). Grammy Award Winner, Best Chamber Music Recording & Gramophone Award Winner, Best Chamber Music Recording * Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 in D Major (Decca 452 239-2) * Brahms: String Quartets Op. 51, Nos. 1 and 2 (Decca 425 526-2) (2003) * Brahms: String Quartet, Op. 67;

Piano Quintet In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that plays a pian ...

Op. 34 with András Schiff (Decca 430 529-2) * Chausson: Concert for piano, violin and string quartet in D major, Op. 21 with

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He plays the Gibson Stradivarius. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, to Shirley Bell, a therapist, and Alan P. Bell, a psychologi ...

and

Jean-Yves Thibaudet Jean-Yves Thibaudet (born 7 September 1961)Michael & Joyce Kennedy, 2007. is a French pianist. Early life and studies Jean-Yves Thibaudet was born in Lyon, France, to non-professional musical parents. His father played the violin, and his mother, ...

(Decca 000444702) (2005) * Dvořák: String Quartet Op. 96 " American"; String Quartet, Op. 105; Five Bagatelles (Decca 47430 077-2) * Dvořák: String Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 51; Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81 with Andreas Haefliger (Decca 289 66197-2) (1999) *

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

: String Quartets Op. 76, Nos. 1–3 (Decca 421 360-2) * Haydn: String Quartets Op. 76, Nos. 4–6 (Decca 425 467-2) * Haydn: String Quartets Op. 77, Nos. 1 and 2; String Quartet, Op. 103 (Decca 430 199-2) * Mozart: String Quintet in C Major, K. 515; String Quintet in G minor, K. 516; Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K. 546 with György Pauk (Decca 430 772-2) (1993) * Schubert: String Quartet in A minor, D. 804 ''

Rosamunde ''Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern'' (''Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus'') is a play by Helmina von Chézy, which is primarily remembered for the incidental music which Franz Schubert composed for it. Music and play premiered in Vienna's Theater an d ...

''; String Quartet in D minor D. 810 '' Death and the Maiden'' (Decca 436 843-2) (1993) * Schubert: String Quartet in A minor, D. 804 ''

''; String Quartet in D minor D. 810 '' Death and the Maiden'' (Hyperion CDA67585) (2006) * Schubert: String Quintet in C Major, D. 956 (with Miklós Perényi); Quartettsatz in C minor, D. 703 (Decca 436 324-2) * Schubert: String Quartet in G Major D. 887; Notturno with Andreas Haefliger, (Decca 452 854-2) (2003) * Smetana: String Quartet No. 1 in E minor "From My Life" (Decca 452 239-2) (2003) * Smetana: String Quartet No. 1 in E minor "From My Life" & Janáček, String Quartets No. 1 ("The Kreutzer Sonata") and No. 2 ("Intimate Letters"); Hypérion A67997 (2015)

References

Selected concert reviews

Review from Wigmore Hall
by

Tom Service Tom Service (born 8 March 1976) is a British writer, music journalist and television and radio presenter, who has written regularly for ''The Guardian'' since 1999 and presented on BBC Radio 3 since 2001. He is a regular presenter of The Proms f ...

, ''The Guardian'', 30 November 1999.
Tom Service, review from Wigmore Hall, London, July 2001. ''The Guardian'', 6 July 2001.
* ttp://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,1219963,00.html Rian Evans, review from St George's, Bristol. ''The Guardian'', 19 May 2004.br>Tom Service, review from Wigmore Hall. ''The Guardian'', 10 May 2005.
* ttp://music.guardian.co.uk/classical/livereviews/story/0,,2021557,00.html Review from Queen Elizabeth Hallby

Martin Kettle Martin James Kettle (born 7 September 1949) is a British journalist and author. The son of two prominent communist activists, Arnold Kettle (best remembered as a literary critic; 1916–1986) and Margot Kettle (née Gale; 1916–1995), he was ed ...

, ''The Guardian'', 26 February 2007.

External links

*
Faculty biography at University of Colorado

Artist page at Hyperion Records

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takacs Quartet Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from Colorado Grammy Award winners Hungarian string quartets American string quartets Decca Records artists 1975 establishments in Hungary