Saturday, April 21 - 7:30 PM at Macky Auditorium, CU Campus

Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra
Michael Butterman, Music Director

ELGAR:  Introduction and Allegro 
STAMITZ:  Concerto for Viola 
BRUCH:  Romance for Viola and Orchestra 
BRAHMS:  Concerto for Violin and Cello 
 
TAKÁCS QUARTET

Bio |

How lucky we are that the Takács Quartet, one of the world’s premier chamber ensembles, is based here in Boulder. We celebrate these amazing musicians through one of the few works for string quartet and orchestra, Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro. After they play together, we’ll hear them as individuals and as a duo (in the revered Double Concerto by Brahms)...a rare treat for local music lovers.




6:30 PM - Pre-Concert Talk featuring CU's own Tesla Quartet, Macky Auditorium (FREE for ticket-holders)

9:30 PM - Post-Concert Season Finale Reception next door to Macky at the Koenig Alumni Center (ticketed fundraising event)

Takács Quartet
Recognized as one of the world's great ensembles, the Takács Quartet plays with a unique blend of drama, warmth and humor, combining four distinct musical personalities to bring fresh insights to the string quartet repertoire. Commenting on their latest Schubert recording for Hyperion, Gramophone magazine noted; "The Takács have the ability to make you believe that there’s no other possible way the music should go, and the strength to overturn preconceptions that comes only with the greatest performers."

Based in Boulder at the University of Colorado, the Takács Quartet performs 90 concerts a year worldwide, throughout Europe as well as in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. The 2010-2011 season includes a Bartok Cycle in Sydney, and a three-concert series focusing on Schubert in New York City (92nd Street Y), and at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The series will feature the New York premiere of a new work composed for the Quartet by Daniel Kellogg, based on the slow movement theme of Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" Quartet.

The Quartet's award-winning recordings include the complete Beethoven Cycle on the Decca label. In 2005 the Late Beethoven Quartets won Disc of the Year and Chamber Award from BBC Music Magazine, a Gramophone Award and a Japanese Record Academy Award. Their recordings of the early and middle Beethoven quartets collected a Grammy, another Gramophone Award, a Chamber Music of America Award and two further awards from the Japanese Recording Academy. Of their performances and recordings of the Late Quartets, the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote “The Takács might play this repertoire better than any quartet of the past or present.”

At the University of Colorado, the Takács Quartet has helped to develop a string program with a special emphasis on chamber music, where students work in a nurturing environment designed to help them develop their artistry. The Quartet's commitment to teaching is enhanced by summer residencies at the Aspen Festival and at the Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara. The Takács is a Visiting Quartet at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.

The Takács Quartet was formed in 1975 at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest by Gabor Takács-Nagy, Károly Schranz, Gabor Ormai and András Fejér, while all four were students. It first received international attention in 1977, winning First Prize and the Critics’ Prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France. The Quartet also won the Gold Medal at the 1978 Portsmouth 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 North American debut tour in 1982. Violinist Edward Dusinberre joined the Quartet in 1993 and violist Roger Tapping in 1995. Violist Geraldine Walther replaced Mr. Tapping in 2005. In 2001 the Takács Quartet was awarded the Order of Merit of the Knight’s Cross of the Republic of Hungary. Visit their website at www.takacsquartet.com.