Award-winning Takács Quartet to perform April 12 with Van Cliburn Medalist Joyce Yang
GAINESVILLE, Fla.—The award-winning Takács Quartet will team up with Van Cliburn Medalist Joyce Yang for a performance on April 12 at the University Auditorium.
Recognized as one of the world’s premiere string quartets, the Takács Quartet is renowned for the ability to fuse four distinct, expressive musical personalities into gripping, unified interpretations. Commenting on their latest Schubert recording for Hyperion, “Gramophone” magazine noted, “The Takács have the ability to make you believe that there’s no other possible way the music should go, and the strength to overturn preconceptions that comes only with the greatest performers.”
The Takács Quartet was formed in 1975 at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest by Gabor Takács-Nagy, Károly Schranz, Gabor Ormai and András Fejér, while all four were students. It first received international attention in 1977, winning first prize and the Critics’ Prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France. The quartet also won the gold medal at the 1978 Portsmouth and Bordeaux Competitions, and first prizes at the Budapest International String Quartet Competition in 1978 and the Bratislava Competition in 1981. The quartet made its North American debut tour in 1982.
Today, the Takács Quartet members include Edward Dusinberre, violin; Károly Schranz, violin; Geraldine Walther, viola; and András Fejér, cello. The quartet is based in Boulder, Colo., at the University of Colorado and performs 80 concerts each year. The quartet members serve as associate artists at the South Bank Centre in London, England, performing several concerts there each year. One of the highlights of their 2007-2008 season was a performance at Carnegie Hall titled “Everyman.” Inspired by Philip Roth’s novel of the same name, “Everyman” paired the quartet with Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman.
In 2005, Joyce Yang was awarded the silver medal at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Completion. At just 19 years old, Yang was the youngest of the Cliburn Competition’s participants. She was the recipient of both the Steven De Groote Memorial Award for the Best Performance of Chamber Music as well as the Beverley Taylor Smith Award for the Best Performance of a New Work.
Born in Seoul, Korea, Yang received her first piano lessons at age four from her aunt. She quickly took to the instrument, which she received as a birthday present, and over the next few years won several national piano competitions in Korea. By age 10 she had entered the Korean National Conservatory, and subsequently made a number of concerto and recital appearances in Seoul and Taejon. In 1997, Yang moved to the United States to begin studies at the pre-college division of the Julliard School of Music in New York.
During her first year at Julliard, she won its Pre-College Division Concerto Competition, resulting in a performance of the Haydn Concerto in D major with the Julliard Pre-College Chamber Orchestra. In April 1999, she was invited to perform at a benefit concert with the Julliard Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Slatkin. A winning performance at the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Greenfield Competition led to a performance of the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Philadelphia Orchestra when she was just 12.
Yang is featured in the film documentary about the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, “In the Heart of Music.” Her debut disc, distributed by Harmonia Mundi USA, includes live performances of works by Bach, Liszt, Scarlatti and the Australian composer Carl Vine. She currently resides in New York City where she attends the Julliard School as a student of Dr. Yohaved Kaplinsky.
The Takács Quartet and Joyce Yang will perform at 7:30 p.m. on April 12 at the University Auditorium. The program includes Haydn’s Quartet in G Minor, Op. 74; Brahms’ Quartet No. 3 in B-flat Major, Op. 67; and Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44, featuring Yang. Tickets are $30, front orchestra and mezzanine; $25, rear orchestra; and $20, balcony.
Tickets are available by calling the Phillips Center Box Office at 352-392-ARTS (2787) or 800-905-ARTS (toll-free within Florida). Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster, 904-353-3309, or toll free at 800-277-1700. Orders may also be faxed to 352-846-1562. Tickets are also available in person at the Phillips Center Box Office, University Box Office at the Reitz Union and all Ticketmaster outlets. Ticketmaster is available on the on the internet at www.ticketmaster.com. Cash, checks, Visa and MasterCard are accepted. Group tickets are also available.
The Phillips Center Box Office is open Monday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. and two hours prior to the performance. Performance dates, times and programs are subject to change.