✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Classical Music

Takács Quartet, Wigmore Hall

On 01 Feb 16, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
On 03 Feb 16, 7:30 PM – 9:45 PM

The supreme string quartet return to London for a pair of diverse, intriguing concerts

By CW Contributor on 23/11/2015

2 CW readers are interested
Photo: Ellen Appel
Photo: Ellen Appel
Takács Quartet, Wigmore Hall Takács Quartet, Wigmore Hall Joe Lloyd
Since their foundation at Budapest’s Music Academy in 1975, the Takács Quartet have endured the sort of change that would level a lesser ensemble. In 1983, all four members and their families immigrated to the United States; a decade later first violin Gabor Takács-Nagy left the ensemble due to hand stress and personal conflict. Soon after, violist Gabor Ormai discovered that he had terminal cancer.
Despite these tumultuous times, the Takács remain far and away one of the – perhaps the – greatest quartets in the world, with recordings of the core repertoire that stand among the finest ever recorded. Wigmore Hall Associate Artists, their appearances in London are seldom short of revelatory. This February, they will visit the venue for a pair of concerts over two nights, both of which feature celebrated composers in novel juxtapositions.
First up, on 1 February, are Haydn and Shostakovich. The concert begins and ends with a pair of the former’s ‘Apponyi’ quartets, composed in 793 for the titular count. No. 57, in C major, brought Haydn’s chamber music to an unprecedented scale and variance. No. 59, nicknamed ‘The Rider’ because of its galloping rhythms, is similarly rich, a masterful exercise in classical form. Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 3 (1946) sees the Russian modernist attempt something similar, drawing together joy, fear and unease over five movements.
Two nights later, on 3 February, pianist Aleksandar Madžar will join the quartet for an evening that pairs Beethoven with Elgar. Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 3 (1800) was the first quartet he ever composed, and at times greatly resembles his teacher Haydn. It largely shows a gentle, warm composer, so different from the grandeur and drama of his mature work. Elgar’s Piano Quintet (1918), composed during a Sussex summer, is similarly lyrical, with a slow movement of profound serenity. In between these two lesser-known masterworks, the Takács will perform the UK premiere of Strong Language by Brooklyn-based composer Timo Andres (Home Stretch), specially composed for the quartet.

What Takács Quartet, Wigmore Hall
Where Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP | MAP
Nearest tube Bond Street (underground)
When On 01 Feb 16, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
On 03 Feb 16, 7:30 PM – 9:45 PM
Price £15-36
Website Click here to book via Wigmore Hall



Most popular

Things to do in London this weekend: 24–26 March. Photo: The Parakeet, Kentish Town
Things to do in London this weekend: 24–26 March
Irene Maiorino and Alba Rohrwacher in My Brilliant Friend season 4, HBO/Sky Atlantic (Photo: HBO)
My Brilliant Friend, season 4, Sky Atlantic: first-look photo, release date, plot, cast
Best art exhibitions in London. Photo: Thin Air at the Beams
Top exhibitions on now in London
  • click for more classical music
    recommendations

  • What the critics say

    THE GUARDIAN

    “This is chamber-music playing of overwhelming intensity, insight and intelligence, simply the best I have ever heard in concert … There's simply no other quartet around today that comes within touching distance of the Takács"

    Andrew Clements

    DAILY TELEGRAPH

    “The strings’ warm tone ensured that the slow movement unfolded hauntingly, and everyone injected utmost virtuosity into the outpourings of the finale.”

    John Allison

Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).

We recommend nearby

  • Market Hall West End
    Read more...
    Map
  • Social Wine & Tapas

    Just off Oxford Street, Social Wine and Tapas is a haven for wine lovers. With all its staff trained sommeliers, and excellent tapas mad with locally sourced ingredients, it's not somewhere to be missed.

    Read more...
    Book Map
  • The Golden Hind
    Book Map
2

Wigmore Hall

Chamber Music

Haydn

Beethoven

Elgar

Shostakovich

Timo Andres

Classical

Romantic

Modern

Contemporary

You might like

  • The quartet with collaborator Danjulo Ishizaka. Photo: Marco Borggreve

    Pavel Haas Quartet, LSO St. Lukes

  • Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras & Alexander Melnikov, Wigmore Hall

    Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras & Alexander Melnikov, Wigmore Hall

  • The Seasons, Barbican Centre

    The Seasons, Barbican Centre

  • Benedetti Elschenbroich Grynyuk Trio, St John's Smith Square

    Benedetti Elschenbroich Grynyuk Trio, St John's Smith Square



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×