Is Takács Quartet the world's greatest string quartet?
‘You will not hear better string quartet playing anywhere in the world today.' BBC Music Magazine
Musica Viva Australia is thrilled to welcome back the Takács Quartet, 50 years young and as vibrant as ever, to perform life-affirming Haydn, revolutionary Beethoven and an intriguing premiere for our times featuring actor Angie Milliken.
The string quartets of Haydn and Beethoven are at the heart of the chamber music repertoire, works to which we return time and again, because they are, quite simply, timeless. Meanwhile, Australian composer Cathy Milliken pushes the boundaries in her new work, Sonnet in Emigration, which weaves together the poetry of Bertholt Brecht, the sounds of a string quartet, and the ever-relevant theme of searching for your home.
‘[Takács] plays not like a group looking back, but like musicians still in love with the act of discovery… – of chamber music as a living art, and of the quartet’s evolving bond with it.' Seen and Heard International
Always inventive, always curious, and always communicating with a genuine sense of wonder and humanity, the Takács Quartet is, quite simply, legendary.
If you want to see a string quartet once in your life, this is the one to see.
HAYDN String Quartet in G minor, Op. 74 No. 3 ‘The Rider’
CATHY MILLIKEN Sonnet of an Emigrant (2025)*
BEETHOVEN String Quartet in C major, Op. 59 No. 3 ‘Razumovsky'
*Commissioned by Musica Viva Australia.
‘You will not hear better string quartet playing anywhere in the world today.’ – BBC Music
Brush up on the wonderful program with the official Musica Viva Australia playlist here.
Read more here.