Founded four decades ago in Hungary, the Takács Quartet bring drama, humor, and warmth to their definitive interpretations of the string quartet repertoire. Renowned as a “benchmark ensemble among today’s string quartets” (Guardian), the Takács return to Duke Performances to inaugurate the 69th season of the Chamber Arts Series.
The program begins with Schubert’s “Quartettsatz,” the only finished movement from the composer’s 12th string quartet. This is followed by Beethoven’s monumental String Quartet in B-flat Major, op. 130, played here with the Finale, which Beethoven was persuaded to substitute for the original last movement, the Grosse Fuge. Violist Erika Eckert joins the Takács for Mozart’s Viola Quintet in G Minor, among the finest of Mozart’s chamber works, in which a mood of sorrow gives way to joyous ebullience.
Schubert: String Quartet No. 12 in C Minor, D. 703 (“Quartettsatz”)
Beethoven: String Quartet in B-flat Major, op. 130 with Finale
Mozart: Viola Quintet in G Minor, K. 516