Takács Quartet with Angie Miliken

Tickets for Musica Viva Australia's 2025 Season go on sale at City Recital Hall on Wednesday 6 November. 

The string quartets of Haydn and Beethoven are at the heart of the chamber music repertoire, timeless works that resonate with audiences across generations. Haydn’s ‘Rider’ Quartet and Beethoven’s Third ‘Razumovsky’ Quartet have provided solace to musicians forced to leave their homes in times of war, including many founding members of Musica Viva Australia.

But, over time, everything changes. 

The Takács Quartet, formed in 1975 at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, knows this well. Over five decades, they’ve transformed artistically and personally. Now, in their 50th year, they return to Australia to present a major new work for string quartet and spoken voice by Australian composer Cathy Milliken, featuring actor Angie Milliken. Inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s poetry from his time in America, this work explores a life left behind. 

Join the Takács Quartet as they unveil this intriguing new work, wrapped in two masterpieces from the founding fathers of the string quartet. 

• Program

  Haydn

  String Quartet in G minor, Op. 74 No. 3 ‘The Rider’

  Cathy Milliken

  Sonnets of an Emigrant

  Beethoven

  String Quartet in C major, Op. 59 No. 3 ‘Razumovsky’

• Artists

  Takács Quartet

  Edward Dusinberre

  Violin

  Harumi Rhodes

  Violin

  Richard O'Neill

  Viola

  András Fejér

  Cello

  Angie Milliken

  Narrator