Mon 3/17 @ 7:30PM
Tue 3/18 @ 7:30PM
The world-famous Takács Quartet was founded in Budapest, Hungary in 1975 by a group of music students. They’ve come a long way since then, and not just because they’re now based in Boulder, Colorado. They’ve won prizes, toured the world, and made a number of important recordings. They’ve also replaced two of the founding members over the years, so now the group contains two original Hungarian members, an American and a Brit.
The ensemble comes to Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights for two performances under the auspices of the Cleveland Chamber Music Society. And each performance will feature the same composer but a different program.
The composer is, appropriately, early 20th-century Hungarian Béla Bartók, someone whose work the group has performed frequently. On Monday, they’ll play his Quartets nos. 1, 3 ad 5. On Tuesday, they’ll perform nos. 2, 4 and 6. They released a recording of the six quartets in 1998, dedicated to founding violist Gábor Ormai, who died in 1995.
Tickets for each concert are $30 but since some string quartet/Bartók enthusiasts will undoubtedly want to hear both, two-night tickets are available for this “Bartók Festival” for $45.
Photo by Keith Saunders