Music Academy to Host Takács Quartet
For Immediate Release July 7, 2009
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA – The celebrated Takács Quartet – recently hailed by London's Guardian as "the greatest string quartet in the world" – will perform twice at the Lobero Theatre and lead a string chamber masterclasses in Lehmann Hall as part of its annual residency at the Music Academy of the West.
The Takács will perform a recital at 8 pm Thursday, July 23, and will appear as part of a broader program involving several Music Academy faculty members on Tuesday, July 28. The latter event will begin at 8 pm. Tickets for the Lobero performances cost $43 and $33, respectively. The quartet's masterclass will take place at 1 pm on Friday, July 24. Masterclass tickets cost $12 ($11 for students and seniors).
On July 23 the Takács will perform three late Haydn quartets (in G Major, op. 77 no. 1, Hob. III:81; in F Major, op. 77 no. 2, Hob. III:82; and in D Minor, op. 103, Hob. III:83) as well as an early Bartók quartet (No. 2, op. 17). On July 28 the ensemble will tackle Brahms' String Sextet in B-flat Major, op. 18. The latter will take place as part of the Academy's Tuesdays @ 8 series at The Lobero throughout the summer season.
Founded in 1975 in Budapest, the Takács Quartet continues to impress reviewers and audiences around the globe. Echoing literally scores of similarly admiring reviews, Gramophone magazine's Harriet Smith recently wrote, "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." Consisting of Edward Dusinberre (first violin), Károly Schranz (second violin), violist Geraldine Walther, and cellist András Fejér, the Takács is based in Boulder, Colorado, where it has been in residence at the University of Colorado since 1983. The ensemble also is a resident quartet at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and its members are associate artists at the South Bank Centre in London.
Having performed repertoire ranging from Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert to Bartók, Britten, Dutilleux, Janáĉek, and Sheng in virtually every music capital in North America, Europe, Australasia, and Japan, the Takács also has appeared at numerous prestigious festivals, including Berlin, Cheltenham, City of London, Mostly Mozart, Ravinia, Salzburg, Schleswig Holstein, and Tanglewood. The ensemble is known as well for its award-winning recordings on the Decca label, including recordings of the complete Beethoven Quartet Cycle, which have garnered a Grammy Award and two Gramophone Awards, among numerous other honors. Commenting on the group's performances and recordings of these quartets, Cleveland's Plain Dealer enthused, "The Takács might play this repertoire better than any quartet of the past or present." This will be the quartet's fifth Academy residency.
As part of its 62nd Summer Festival, the Music Academy also will present an ambitious production of Ambroise Thomas' charming French Romantic opera Mignon, as well as performances by conductors Leonard Slatkin and Nicholas McGegan. The Academy is presenting more than 190 events over the course of this year's Summer School and Festival, which began June 22 and concludes on August 15. Additional highlights will include a performance by Canadian Brass and conducting turns by George Manahan and Alexander Mickelthwate. Featuring the Academy's exceptionally talented Fellows, together with illustrious guest performers and faculty, the events will be presented at the Academy's scenic Miraflores campus and in venues throughout Santa Barbara.
For information, call 969-8787. Information is also available online at www.musicacademy.org.
Founded in 1947, the Music Academy of the West is among the nation's preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classical musicians. The Academy provides these promising musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and frequent performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, guest conductors, and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and Fellows receive full scholarships (tuition, room, and board). Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many enjoy careers as prominent solo artists. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West presents more than 200 public events annually, including performances by faculty, visiting artists, and Fellows; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and fully staged opera. The Music Academy began broadcasting live performances by the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera at Hahn Hall in October 2008. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
