Takács Quartet Presented by Liszt Academy

The Takács Quartet was founded in 1975 by four Liszt Academy students, all barely in their twenties. Their early years of collaboration were guided by legendary musicians and mentors such as András Mihály, György Kurtág, and Ferenc Rados. Success didn’t take long to arrive, and the quartet embarked on its first North American concert tour as early as 1982. A year later, following a mutual decision by the members, the quartet relocated to the United States. When the Takács Quartet toured New Zealand and Australia in 1985, following a concert at the Sydney Opera House, the critic from the Sydney Herald wrote: the Takács String Quartet represents "true chamber music, grounded in the Central European tradition. The sound is always beautiful, warm, and rich, even when the expression is bold and relentless." Although only András Fejér remains from the founding quartet, it is unquestionable that the core character of their music still bears that Central European tone, and as the "senior member" of the community of active string quartets, the Takács Quartet continues to keep the spirit of the Hungarian quartet tradition alive today.