Review from The Columbus Dispatch, Sunday, April 18, 1999.

Takacs Quartet 'deeply satisfying'

By Ralph O’Dette
For The Dispatch

    The Takacs Quartet, one of the world's leading chamber ensembles, was presented by the Columbus Chamber Music Society last night in the Gloria Dei Worship Center of Trinity Lutheran Seminary. The final concert of the society's 51st season was deeply satisfying.
    The essence of great music-making is style. In their substantial program of works by Haydn, Bartok and Beethoven, the Takacs convinced the listener that each composer is their true specialty.
    The quartet, formed in Hungary in 1977, has great technical skill and flawless ensemble, and the Takacs produce beautiful sound, individually and collectively, but most impressive is their feeling for the uniqueness of each composer.
    Joseph Haydn's compositions attracted nicknames. Many are, apt, as is the, case with Quartet in C Major, Op. 33, No. 3, 7he Bird. Birds were clearly twittering in the first two movements.
    After the subdued delicacy of the slow third movement, the final Rondo took wing again, like a flock of finches in spring.
    Bartok's six string quartets have been labeled the greatest since Beethoven, but they continue to be difficult listening experiences for some. The Quartet No. 2, Op. 17 is an effective blend of approachability and the Bartok style.
    Composed during World War 1, the music still is fresh and original. Especially in the second movement we hear the composer integrating his Central European folk music research into his increasingly original and exciting harmonic and rhythmic language. The finale is an emotionally powerful elegy. One rarely hears this music with such expressive and technical mastery.
    There, are various opinions how to present the Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 130 by Beethoven because there is a choice of which final movement to play. The Takacs chose the Grosse Fuge in B-flat Major, Op. 133, Beethoven's original last movement.
    The Takacs played the first five movements of this ingratiating work as though they had coached with the composer.
    The final fugue is one of the greatest challenges in the quartet literature. Time prevented my hearing all but the opening measures, but they promised a grand experience.

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