About the Event

As the world-renowned Takács Quartet enters its 49th season, the ensemble is excited to bring a new work written for the quartet by Phoenix composer Nokuthula Ngwenyama, a co-commission from nine major U.S. concert series. Quartet members Edward Dusinberre (violin), Harumi Rhodes (violin), Richard O’Neill (viola), and András Fejér (cello) will perform Ngwenyama’s The Natural World, bookended by Haydn’s String Quartet in B Flat, op. 76 no. 4, “Sunrise” and Beethoven’s String Quartet no. 8 in E Minor, op. 59, no. 2, a glorious slow movement composed while Beethoven contemplated the starry night sky. 

Co-commissioners of the Ngwenyama work include lead commissioner Cal Performances (University of California, Berkeley), Shriver Hall Concert Series (Baltimore), 92nd Street Y (New York City), University of Michigan, Friends of Chamber Music (Portland, Oregon), The Broad Stage (Santa Monica, California), Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Celebrity Series of Boston, Capital Region Classical (Albany, New York). 

Takács Quartet will release two Hyperion albums this year, featuring works by Coleridge-Taylor, Dvorák, and Schubert. The Takács will also return to the ensemble’s Hungarian roots by playing cycles of the complete Bartók quartets. As associate artists at the Wigmore Hall, London, the Takács will continue its series of four concerts, featuring amongst other works, Stephen Hough’s 2021 quartet for the Takács and piano quintets by Florence Price and Dvorák—the latter pieces part of a concert/recording project with pianist Marc-André Hamelin. Other international destinations include Berlin, Geneva, and the Adam International Chamber Music Festival in New Zealand. 

Sponsors

World Class Partner

Presenting Sponsor

The Dayton Fowler Grafman Endowment for Classical Music