Recognized as one of the world's greatest 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.
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, who were still students at that time. 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. In 2001 the Takács Quartet was awarded the Order of Merit of the Knight’s Cross of the Republic of Hungary.
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.
Based in Boulder at the University of Colorado, the Takács Quartet performs ninety concerts a year worldwide, throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.
The Quartet's award-winning recordings include the complete Beethoven Cycle on the Decca label. In 2005 the late Beethoven quartets was awarded “Disc of the Year” and get the Chamber Award from the 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.”
In 2006 the Takács Quartet made their first recording for Hyperion Records, of Schubert's Quartets D804 and D810. Then they recorded Brahms' Piano Quintet with Stephen Hough, a disc that was subsequently nominated for a Grammy. Brahms' Quartets Op. 51 and Op. 67 was released in the Fall 2008 and a disc featuring the Schumann’s Piano Quintet with Marc-Andre Hamelin in late 2009. The complete Haydn Apponyi Quartets, Op. 71 and 74, was released in early 2011.
Since 1988 the Quartet has also made sixteen recordings for the Decca label of works by Beethoven, Bartok, Borodin, Brahms, Chausson, Dvorak, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and Smetana. The ensemble's recording of the six Bartok String Quartets received the 1998 Gramophone Award for chamber music and, in 1999, was nominated for a Grammy.
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 also a Visiting Quartet at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.
