Takács Quartet
Encyclopedia
The Takács Quartet is a string quartet
, founded in Hungary
, and now based in Boulder, Colorado
, United States
.
in Budapest
, Gabor Takács-Nagy
(first violin
), Károly Schranz
(second violin), Gabor Ormai (viola
), and András Fejér
(cello
) formed The Takács Quartet. According to their own story, Takács-Nagy, Ormai and Fejér had been playing trios together for several months when they met Schranz during a pickup soccer game after classes. With the immediate addition of Károly to their group the trio became a quartet.
They first received international attention in 1977, winning the First Prize and the Critics' Prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France. After that the quartet won the Gold Medal at the 1979 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 first North America
n tour in 1982.
In 1983, the group decided it would be best for them and their families if they moved to the United States. A colleague offered them a position as quartet-in-residence at the University of Colorado at Boulder
, and they accepted the job.
In 1993, Takács-Nagy left the group, and the British violinist Edward Dusinberre
replaced him. In 1994, Ormai learned that he had incurable cancer, and was replaced by another British musician, violist Roger Tapping. Following these changes, the quartet embarked on a successful series of recordings: a cycle of all six Bartok quartets (dedicated to the memory of Ormai, who died in 1995) and a critically acclaimed complete Beethoven quartet cycle, as well as quartets by Smetana
and Borodin
.
In 2005, following the completion of the Beethoven cycle, Tapping retired from the group to spend more time with his family. He currently teaches chamber music at New England Conservatory. His replacement was Geraldine Walther
, an American violist who had up until then been the principal violist of the San Francisco Symphony
. The members of the quartet as well as the critics have remarked on how quickly she fitted into the ensemble.
Also in 2005, the quartet became associate artists at the South Bank Centre. In 2006, they released their first recording with Walther, Schubert
's "Rosamunde"
and "Death and the Maiden"
quartets to critical acclaim. This was also their first recording with Hyperion Records
, after switching from the Decca
label.
: Andrew Keener (producer), Simon Dominic Eadon (engineer) & the Takács Quartet for Beethoven
: String Quartets ("Razumovsky" Op. 59, 1-3; "Harp" Op. 74) (2003
)
The Takács Quartet "has been recording the complete Beethoven quartets, and their survey, now complete, stands as the most richly expressive modern account of this titanic cycle." (Alex Ross, writing in The New Yorker
, February 6, 2006).
The Takács Quartet's interpretation of Bartók
's six string quartets has been met with praise.
The Takács has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance for their recording of Brahms String Quartet, Op. 51, No. 2 on the Hyperion label.
In March 2010 the Quartet was honored for Excellence in Research and Creative Work by the Boulder Faculty Assembly at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
, founded in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and now based in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
In 1975, four students at the Music AcademyFranz Liszt Academy of Music
The Franz Liszt Academy of Music is a concert hall and music conservatory in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875...
in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Gabor Takács-Nagy
Gábor Takács-Nagy
Gabor Takács-Nagy is a Hungarian violinist and conductor. He began violin studies at age 8. He attended the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where he was a winner of the Jenő Hubay prize...
(first violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
), Károly Schranz
Károly Schranz
Károly Schranz is a Hungarian violinist, founding and current member of the Takács Quartet.-Biography:Born in Budapest, Hungary, he began playing the violin at the age of four, receiving his first lessons from a Gypsy violinist neighbor...
(second violin), Gabor Ormai (viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
), and András Fejér
András Fejér
András Fejér is a Hungarian cellist. He is a member of the Takács Quartet, having founded it with three classmates at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary, in 1975....
(cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
) formed The Takács Quartet. According to their own story, Takács-Nagy, Ormai and Fejér had been playing trios together for several months when they met Schranz during a pickup soccer game after classes. With the immediate addition of Károly to their group the trio became a quartet.
They first received international attention in 1977, winning the First Prize and the Critics' Prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France. After that the quartet won the Gold Medal at the 1979 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 first North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n tour in 1982.
In 1983, the group decided it would be best for them and their families if they moved to the United States. A colleague offered them a position as quartet-in-residence at the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, and they accepted the job.
In 1993, Takács-Nagy left the group, and the British violinist Edward Dusinberre
Edward Dusinberre
-Biography:Edward Dusinberre is the first violinist of the Takács Quartet. Dusinberre studied with the Ukrainian violinist Felix Andrievsky at the Royal College of Music in London and at the Juilliard School with Dorothy DeLay and Piotr Milewski. In 1990 he won the British Violin Recital Prize and...
replaced him. In 1994, Ormai learned that he had incurable cancer, and was replaced by another British musician, violist Roger Tapping. Following these changes, the quartet embarked on a successful series of recordings: a cycle of all six Bartok quartets (dedicated to the memory of Ormai, who died in 1995) and a critically acclaimed complete Beethoven quartet cycle, as well as quartets by Smetana
Bedrich Smetana
Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
and Borodin
Borodin
Borodin , or Borodina is a Russian last name and may refer to:*Alexander Borodin , Russian composer and chemist*Alexander Parfeniyevich Borodin, Russian scientist in the field of rail transport...
.
In 2005, following the completion of the Beethoven cycle, Tapping retired from the group to spend more time with his family. He currently teaches chamber music at New England Conservatory. His replacement was Geraldine Walther
Geraldine Walther
Geraldine Lamboley Walther is an American violist. Since 2005 she has been a member of the Takács String Quartet, replacing Roger Tapping as violist of the group. She is the former principal violist of the San Francisco Symphony, a role she held from 1976 through 2005...
, an American violist who had up until then been the principal violist of the San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
. The members of the quartet as well as the critics have remarked on how quickly she fitted into the ensemble.
Also in 2005, the quartet became associate artists at the South Bank Centre. In 2006, they released their first recording with Walther, Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
's "Rosamunde"
String Quartet No. 13 (Schubert)
The String Quartet No. 13 in A minor , D. 804, Op. 29, was written by Franz Schubert between February and March 1824...
and "Death and the Maiden"
Death and the Maiden Quartet (Schubert)
The String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, known as Death and the Maiden, by Franz Schubert, is one of the pillars of the chamber music repertoire. Composed in 1824, after the composer suffered through a serious illness and realized that he was dying, it is Schubert's testament to death...
quartets to critical acclaim. This was also their first recording with Hyperion Records
Hyperion Records
Hyperion Records is an independent British classical record label.-History:The company was named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology. It was founded by George Edward Perry, widely known as "Ted", in 1980. Early LP releases included rarely recorded 20th century British music by...
, after switching from the Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
label.
Current members
- Edward DusinberreEdward Dusinberre-Biography:Edward Dusinberre is the first violinist of the Takács Quartet. Dusinberre studied with the Ukrainian violinist Felix Andrievsky at the Royal College of Music in London and at the Juilliard School with Dorothy DeLay and Piotr Milewski. In 1990 he won the British Violin Recital Prize and...
, first violin - Károly SchranzKároly SchranzKároly Schranz is a Hungarian violinist, founding and current member of the Takács Quartet.-Biography:Born in Budapest, Hungary, he began playing the violin at the age of four, receiving his first lessons from a Gypsy violinist neighbor...
, second violin - Geraldine WaltherGeraldine WaltherGeraldine Lamboley Walther is an American violist. Since 2005 she has been a member of the Takács String Quartet, replacing Roger Tapping as violist of the group. She is the former principal violist of the San Francisco Symphony, a role she held from 1976 through 2005...
, viola - András FejérAndrás FejérAndrás Fejér is a Hungarian cellist. He is a member of the Takács Quartet, having founded it with three classmates at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary, in 1975....
, cello
Past members
- Gabor Takács-NagyGábor Takács-NagyGabor Takács-Nagy is a Hungarian violinist and conductor. He began violin studies at age 8. He attended the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where he was a winner of the Jenő Hubay prize...
, first violin - Gabor Ormai, viola
- Roger Tapping, viola
Awards and recognition
Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music PerformanceGrammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance has been awarded since 1959. The award has had several minor name changes:*From 1959 to 1960 the award was known as Best Classical Performance - Chamber Music ...
: Andrew Keener (producer), Simon Dominic Eadon (engineer) & the Takács Quartet for Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
: String Quartets ("Razumovsky" Op. 59, 1-3; "Harp" Op. 74) (2003
Grammy Awards of 2003
The 45th Grammy Awards were held on February 23, 2003. Musicians accomplishments from the previous year were recognized. Norah Jones was the night's big winner winning five awards including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal...
)
The Takács Quartet "has been recording the complete Beethoven quartets, and their survey, now complete, stands as the most richly expressive modern account of this titanic cycle." (Alex Ross, writing in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, February 6, 2006).
The Takács Quartet's interpretation of Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
's six string quartets has been met with praise.
The Takács has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance for their recording of Brahms String Quartet, Op. 51, No. 2 on the Hyperion label.
In March 2010 the Quartet was honored for Excellence in Research and Creative Work by the Boulder Faculty Assembly at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Selected discography
- BartókBéla BartókBéla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
: The Six String Quartets (Decca 289 455 297-2) (1998). Gramophone Award Winner, Best Chamber Music Recording - BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
: The Early QuartetsString Quartets Nos. 1 - 6, Opus 18 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's opus 18, published in 1801 by T. Mollo et Comp in Vienna, consisted of his first six string quartets. They were composed between 1798 and 1800 to fulfill a commission for Prince Lobkowitz, who was the employer of Beethoven's friend, the violinist Karl Amenda...
: Op. 18, Nos. 1-6 (Decca 000186402) (2004) - Beethoven: The Late QuartetsString Quartets Nos. 12 - 16 and Grosse Fuge, Opus 127, 130 - 135 (Beethoven)The following set of string quartets is generally referred to as Beethoven's Late String Quartets, including the Grosse Fuge :*Opus 127: String Quartet No. 12 in E flat major...
: Op. 95String Quartet No. 11 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's opus 95, his String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, is his last before his exalted late string quartets. It is commonly referred to as the "Serioso," stemming from his title "Quartett[o] Serioso" at the beginning and the tempo designation for the third movement.It is one of the...
; Op. 127String Quartet No. 12 (Beethoven)The String Quartet No. 12 in E major, op. 127, by Ludwig van Beethoven, was completed in 1825. It is the first of Beethoven's late quartets. There are four movements:#Maestoso — Allegro#Adagio, ma non troppo e molto cantabile#Scherzando vivace...
; Op. 130String Quartet No. 13 (Beethoven)The String Quartet No. 13 in B major, op. 130, by Ludwig van Beethoven was completed in November 1825. The number traditionally assigned to it is based on the order of its publication; it is actually the fourteenth quartet in order of composition. It was premiered in March 1826 by the Schuppanzigh...
; Op. 131String Quartet No. 14 (Beethoven)The String Quartet No. 14 in C minor, Op. 131, by Ludwig van Beethoven was completed in 1826. About 40 minutes in length, it consists of seven movements to be played without a break, as follows:#Adagio ma non troppo e molto...
; Op. 132String Quartet No. 15 (Beethoven)The Quartet in A minor, Op. 132, by Ludwig van Beethoven, was written in 1825, given its public premiere on November 6 of that year by the Schuppanzigh Quartet and was dedicated to Count Nicolai Galitzin, as were Opp. 127 and 130...
; Op. 133Große FugeThe Große Fuge , Op. 133, is a single-movement composition for string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven. A massive double fugue, it originally served as the final movement of his Quartet No. 13 in B major but he replaced it with a new finale and published it separately in 1827 as Op...
; Op.135String Quartet No. 16 (Beethoven)The String Quartet No. 16 in F major, op. 135, by Ludwig van Beethoven was written in October 1826 and was the last substantial work he finished. Only the last movement of the Quartet op. 130, written as a replacement for the Große Fuge, was written later. It was premiered by the Schuppanzigh...
(Decca 000387502) (2005) - Beethoven: The three "Rasumovsky" QuartetsString Quartets Nos. 7 - 9, Opus 59 - Rasumovsky (Beethoven)The three "Rasoumovsky" string quartets, opus 59, are the quartets Ludwig van Beethoven wrote in 1806, as a result of a commission by the Russian ambassador in Vienna, Count Andreas Razumovsky:*String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59, No. 1...
, Op.59; the "Harp" QuartetString Quartet No. 10 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet No. 10 in E major, nicknamed the "Harp", was published in 1809 as opus 74.- Naming :The nickname "Harp" refers to the characteristic pizzicato sections in the Allegro of the first movement, where pairs of members of the quartet alternate notes in an arpeggio,...
, Op.74 (Decca 470 847-2 3 DH2) (2002). Grammy Award Winner, Best Chamber Music Recording & Gramophone Award Winner, Best Chamber Music Recording - BorodinAlexander BorodinAlexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was a member of the group of composers called The Five , who were dedicated to producing a specifically Russian kind of art music...
: String Quartet No. 2 in D Major (Decca 452 239-2) - BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
: String Quartets Op. 51, Nos. 1 and 2 (Decca 425 526-2) (2003) - Brahms: String Quartet, Op. 67; Piano QuintetPiano Quintet (Brahms)The Piano Quintet in F minor, opus 34, by Johannes Brahms was completed during the summer of 1864. It was dedicated to Her Royal Highness the Princess Anne of Hesse...
Op. 34 with Andras SchiffAndrás SchiffAndrás Schiff is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist, who has won a number of awards including the Grammy and made numerous recordings.- Biography :...
(Decca 430 529-2) - ChaussonErnest ChaussonAmédée-Ernest Chausson was a French romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish.-Life:Ernest Chausson was born in Paris into a prosperous bourgeois family...
: Concert for piano, violin and string quartet in D major, Op. 21 with Joshua BellJoshua BellJoshua David Bell is an American Grammy Award-winning violinist.-Childhood:Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, the son of a psychologist and a therapist. Bell's father is the late Alan P...
and Jean-Yves ThibaudetJean-Yves Thibaudet-Early life:Jean-Yves Thibaudet was born in Lyon, France, to non-professional musical parents. His father played the violin, and his mother, of German origin and a somewhat accomplished pianist herself, introduced the instrument to Jean-Yves....
(Decca 000444702) (2005) - DvořákAntonín DvorákAntonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
: String Quartet Op. 96 "AmericanString Quartet No. 12 (Dvorák)The American string quartet, opus 96 in F major, is the 12th string quartet composed by Antonín Dvořák. It was written in 1893, during Dvořák's visit to the United States. Dvořák wrote that the quartet - one of the most popular in the chamber music repertoire - is influenced by American folk music...
"; String Quartet, Op. 105; Five Bagatelles (Decca 47430 077-2) - Dvořák: String Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 51; Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81 with Andreas Haefliger (Decca 289 66197-2) (1999)
- HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
: String Quartets Op. 76, Nos. 1-3 (Decca 421 360-2) - Haydn: String Quartets Op. 76, Nos. 4-6 (Decca 425 467-2)
- Haydn: String Quartets Op. 77, Nos. 1 and 2; String Quartet, Op. 103 (Decca 430 199-2)
- MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
: String Quintet in C Major, K. 515; String Quintet in g minor, K. 516; Adagio and Fugue in c minor, K. 546 with Gyorgy PaukGyörgy Pauk-Biography:Born in Budapest, Hungary, Pauk entered the Franz Liszt Academy of Music there at age twelve where he studied under Zoltán Kodály. In 1956 he left Hungary for the Netherlands and, after being persuaded by violinist Yehudi Menuhin, he permanently settled in London in 1961.Since then he...
(Decca 430 772-2) (1993) - SchubertFranz SchubertFranz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
: String Quartet in a minor, D. 804 RosamundeString Quartet No. 13 (Schubert)The String Quartet No. 13 in A minor , D. 804, Op. 29, was written by Franz Schubert between February and March 1824...
; String Quartet in d minor D. 810 Death and the MaidenDeath and the Maiden Quartet (Schubert)The String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, known as Death and the Maiden, by Franz Schubert, is one of the pillars of the chamber music repertoire. Composed in 1824, after the composer suffered through a serious illness and realized that he was dying, it is Schubert's testament to death...
(Decca 436 843-2) (1993) - Schubert: String Quartet in a minor, D. 804 RosamundeString Quartet No. 13 (Schubert)The String Quartet No. 13 in A minor , D. 804, Op. 29, was written by Franz Schubert between February and March 1824...
; String Quartet in d minor D. 810 Death and the MaidenDeath and the Maiden Quartet (Schubert)The String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, known as Death and the Maiden, by Franz Schubert, is one of the pillars of the chamber music repertoire. Composed in 1824, after the composer suffered through a serious illness and realized that he was dying, it is Schubert's testament to death...
(Hyperion CDA67585) (2006) - Schubert: String Quintet in C MajorString Quintet (Schubert)The String Quintet in C major, D. 956, op. posth. 163, is a piece of chamber music written by Franz Schubert. It was composed during the summer of 1828, two months before his death, and is Schubert's final chamber work. The Quintet was first performed on 17 November 1850 at the Musikverein in...
, D. 956 (with Miklos Perenyi); QuartettsatzQuartettsatz (Schubert)The Quartettsatz in C minor, D. 703 was composed by Franz Schubert in December 1820. It is the first movement, the Allegro assai, of a Twelfth String Quartet which Schubert never completed...
in c minor, D. 703 (Decca 436 324-2) - Schubert: String Quartet in G MajorString Quartet No. 15 (Schubert)The String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887, was written by Franz Schubert in June 1826. It was posthumously published in 1851, as opus 161.-Movements:The piece is in four movements, and is about 45 minutes long:...
D. 887 NotturnoNotturno (Schubert)The Notturno in E-flat major, Op. 148 , also called Adagio, is a nocturne for piano trio by Franz Schubert.-Description:This substantial but relatively neglected piece has affinities with the slow movements of both the String Quintet in C major D. 956, and the Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat, D 898...
with Andreas Haefliger (Decca 452 854-2) (2003) - SmetanaBedrich SmetanaBedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
: String Quartet No. 1 in e minor "From My Life" (Decca 452 239-2) (2003)
Selected concert reviews
- Tom Service, review from Wigmore Hall. The Guardian, 30 November 1999.
- Tom Service, review from Wigmore Hall, London, July 2001. The Guardian, 6 July 2001.
- Rian Evans, review from Assembly Rooms, Bath. The Guardian, 13 November 2002.
- Rian Evans, review from St George's, Bristol. The Guardian, 19 May 2004.
- Tom Service, review from Wigmore Hall. The Guardian, 10 May 2005.
- George Hall, review from Queen Elizabeth Hall. The Guardian, 15 November 2005.
- Martin Kettle, review from Queen Elizabeth Hall. The Guardian, 26 February 2007.