Takács Quartet & Angie Milliken
20 August 2025
QPAC Concert Hall, South Bank
In a celebration of two major anniversaries, the Grammy Award-winning Takács Quartet returns to Australia this August to present the world premiere of Sonnet in Emigration, Australian composer Cathy Milliken’s new work for string quartet and spoken voice, narrated by Australian screen legend and Cathy’s sister, Angie Milliken.
Artistic Director Paul Kildea is delighted to welcome back the Takács Quartet, now in its 50th year, in what promises to be a highlight of Musica Viva Australia’s 80th year.
“The Takács Quartet – with its own roots in migration and displacement – has been coming to Australia for decades,” said Kildea. “I wanted Cathy to write something for the quartet that explores the idea that immigrants can really change a culture for the better. This tour is our tribute to Richard Goldner and Walter Dullo, two mid-century immigrants who founded our organisation and, overnight, changed the sound of Australia.”
Formed in 1975 by four students of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, the much-loved Takács Quartet has remade itself artistically, geographically, and personally across five decades on the classical stage. Hailed by The New York Times as ‘one of the world’s greatest string quartets’, the Colorado-based ensemble is the winner of three Gramophone Awards, a Grammy Award, three Japanese Record Academy Awards, and Ensemble Album of the Year at the Classical Brits.
The quartet will be joined onstage by Australian actor Angie Milliken, who will narrate Cathy’s Sonnet in Emigration, inspired by the poetry of German refugee and playwright Bertolt Brecht. This major new work is framed by two masterpieces from the founding fathers of the string quartet: Haydn’s Rider Quartet and Beethoven’s third Razumovsky Quartet.
Takács Quartet & Angie Milliken promises a heartfelt and inspiring homage to Musica Viva Australia’s founders, and the chamber music they loved so much.
For ticketing and further information, visit the Musica Viva Australia website
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