PROGRAM
Takács String Quartet
Nature and Nurture: One mark of a masterful ensemble is its power to convey the idiomatic vision behind each work it performs—all while leaving no doubt as to its own. This week, the Takács Quartet offers absorbing takes on three works whose composers bear remarkably different approaches to the form: Beethoven's bracing "Serioso" quartet, a "sad burlesque" from Béla Bartók's sixth quartet, and the radiant opening movement of Maurice Ravel's Quartet in F Major. At each turn, the Takács' faithfulness to these works' individuality is underpinned by a voice, and virtuosity, all its own.
MUSIC PLAYED IN THE PROGRAM
- Ludwig van Beethoven: Quartet in f minor, Op. 95
—I. Allegro con brio
—II. Allegretto ma non troppo-attacca
—III. Allegro assai vivace ma serioso - Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 6
—III. Mesto-Burletta: Moderato - Maurice Ravel: String Quartet in F major
—I. Allegro Moderato—Très doux
MIXED COMPANY
POSTED BY SUZANNE SCHAFFER ON AUGUST 08, 2006
There's no place like home...
For me, one line really stands out about this Saint Paul Sunday program with the Takàcs Quartet, of which two members are Hungarian: right before playing the piece by Béla Bartók, a Hungarian composer, one of the musicians said that the melody really reminds him of home. At that moment, playing a movement from Bartók's String Quartet No. 6, he felt homesick for Hungary. It reminded me what personal meaning a piece of music can carry, even if it's something the composer never imagined. It also reminded me that being a professional musician is not easy. (more)
LINKS AND RESOURCES
Artist profile: Takács Quartet
