401 Van Ness Ave
San Francisco, California 94102

San Francisco Performances presents the famed Takacs Quartet in its second San Francisco appearance (the first in more than 20 years) with a program of Haydn, Beethoven and, in tribute to its Hungarian roots, Bartok. It will be the ensemble's first concert here since Geraldine Walther, for 29 years the principal violist at San Francisco Symphony, joined in 2005. The quartet plays one night only Saturday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. in the Herbst Theater.

Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Karoly Schranz, Gabor Ormai and Andras Fejer formed the quartet in 1975 at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, and developed into one of the world's foremost chamber ensembles, showcasing tremendous technical skill and charisma. Violinist Edward Dusinberre joined in 1993 and Walther most recently.

The quartet is based at University of Colorado in Boulder, where it heads the strings program while continuing to develop novel programs and to champion great repertoire. In 2007, the group collaborated with Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman for "Everyman," inspired by the Philip Roth novel, in Carnegie Hall, and works frequently with the Hungarian folk ensemble Muzsikas.

The Takacs Quartet's recordings, which include the complete Beethoven quartet cycle and collaborations with pianists Stephen Hough and Marc-Andre Hamelin, have collected Grammy, Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine Awards and more. The complete Haydn "Apponyi" Quartets are due to be released in 2011.

SFP's Oct. 9 program features Haydn's Quartet in G minor, "The Rider," Bartok's Quartet No. 4 and Beethoven's Quartet in E-Flat Major. Tickets start at just $35 and range to $50 and $60. Visit sfperformances.org or call (415) 392-2545.

Official Website: http://www.sfperformances.org

Added by FullCalendar on September 24, 2010

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