In conversation with second violinist Harumi Rhodes and violist Richard O’Neill, we discover what they learned as they played these quartets on the road and then brought them into the recording studio
By Laurence Vittes | From the March/April 2020 issue of Strings Magazine Having recorded the piano quintets of Franck, Shostakovich, and Robert Schumann with the Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin, the Takács Quartet and Hamelin moved on to the two written…
By Laurence Vittes | From the January/February 2020 issue of Strings Magazine When the Takács Quartet announced that Richard O’Neill would replace Geraldine Walther as the famed ensemble’s fourth violist, it represented the latest achievement in a career defined by…
By Stephanie Powell In 2020, the Takács Quartet will welcome violist Richard O’Neill, who will step in to replace current violist Geraldine Walther. After 15 years, Walther has announced she will be retiring after this season. The quartet, which was…
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By Cristina Schreil Dvořák: String Quartet, Op. 105, and String Quintet, Op. 97 Takács Quartet; Lawrence Power, viola (Hyperion) Many know that when Dvořák journeyed to the new world, he wrote a symphony. A new recording by the Takács Quartet…
Wigmore Hall, the jewel in London’s musical crown, is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2026.
To mark the first 25 years of this century, here are 15 new string pieces that proved especially significant and impactful (plus a few honorable mentions).
Collaboration between more than 90 institutions includes support from the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego symphonies
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Driven by deep love and an infectious sense of wonder, Vernon has written a different kind of Beethoven book
Norman Lebrecht listened to 1,000 Beethoven recordings and live broadcasts.
After taking on Beethoven, Edward Dusinberre’s second book of memories and music, Distant Melodies, focuses on selected works by Bartók, Dvořák, Elgar, and Britten.
If you have ever wondered whether we really need another recording of Dvorak's “American” Quartet, the answer is yes, we need this one by the Julliard String Quartet.
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The Grammy rarely loses that headline status. But just how powerful is this perceived value for classical musicians?
If Op. 131 can seem an ultimate destination—Beethoven considered it his favorite achievement in the medium—this music resists “definitive” interpretations.
By Inge Kjemtrup Resilience is a hot topic. We speak with admiration of the resilience of individuals who emerge with strength and dignity from traumatic experiences. We urge parents to instill resilience in their children so they can develop the…
By Inge Kjemtrup Every three years 12 of the finest young string quartets in the world vie for first prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London. Laureates of this competition include the Takács, Alexander, Belcea, Endellion, and…
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Under the guise of complex art music, composer and ethnomusicologist Béla Bartók brought Hungarian peasant culture into the concert halls of Europe.
By James N. McKean Ron Forrester came to bow making later than most. He was in his early thirties, an amateur cellist, when he brought a broken bow into the shop of Yung Chin in New York. That visit changed…
By Cristina Schreil “Hello sugarplum.” It’s an odd thing to hear a room of people utter in unison. Then again, this crowd was unique. A black-and-white photo of late violin teacher Dorothy DeLay—the frequent speaker of this warm greeting—glowed on…
At 70, the Juilliard String Quartet is much older than most other American string ensembles. At the same time, it’s fresher now than ever before By Cristina Schreil In a move that’s hardly surprising for an en-semble, the Juilliard String…
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Compiled by Stephanie Powell Violinist Simone Porter The Guad: 1745 G.B. Guadagnini violin, Parma. I have had the privilege to play it for about two and a half years. Known History: I know very, very little—I only know its immediate…
By Stephanie Powell Still in school and studying at the Aspen Music Festival years ago, the Chiara Quartet—violinists Rebecca Fischer and Julie Hye-Yung Yoon, violist Jonah Sirota, and cellist Gregory Beaver—experienced a seminal moment: a musical conversation between the Takacs…
By Laurence Vittes In the 1920s, Adolf Busch was considered one of the world’s great violinists, alongside Bronislaw Huberman, Fritz Kreisler, and Carl Flesch. The importance of Busch as a soloist has dimmed, his career derailed by Hitler, the war,…
Judges of the ASTA Solo Competition share the view from their seats By Karen Peterson As the six laureate finalists in the ASTA 2015 National Solo Competition prepare for their March 20 performance, the judges do the same. It’s not…
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Two quartets take on a powerhouse residency program at Stony Brook University By Laurence Vittes At one of the Calidore String Quartet’s first rehearsals in 2010, back when the three Americans and one Canadian were still students at the Colburn Conservatory…
For those living in alto clef, here are some of the best loved, and most overlooked, viola works of all time, as chosen by 11 top viola players.