Geraldine Walther to Retire from Takács Quartet

Well, gosh. The headline from the publicist says "WORLD RENOWNED TAKÁCS QUARTET ANNOUNCES NEW VIOLIST", but if you live in the Bay Area, you mentally reframe it to "Geraldine Walther is retiring?!"

It seems only yesterday that she left San Francisco Symphony, where she was the principal viola for 29 years, but...it's been 15. I guess Jonathan Vinocour is no longer That New Guy in Geraldine's Chair. And retiring after 45 years of performing is hardly unreasonable.

Here's the announcement from the Takács, and congratulations to Richard O'Neill, the incoming violist:

NEW YORK, NY (October 9, 2019)— As the Takács Quartet enters its 45th year, the internationally acclaimed string quartet continues to evolve with a change to its line-up. Violist Geraldine Walther will retire from the group this May, after a remarkable 15 years. Korean-American violist and celebrated chamber musician Richard O'Neill will join the quartet from June. “We feel extremely grateful to have been able to share our musical lives with Geri since 2005, benefitting from her wonderful sound and vibrant musicianship in concerts and numerous recordings,” say the continuing members of the Takács. “We are excited to welcome Richard, who is a friend and colleague of ours at the Music Academy of the West, and whose artistry we have admired for many years.” Reflecting on her time in the quartet, Geri Walther says, “I have loved being a member of the Takács Quartet and am grateful for all the friends I've made along the way. I am very happy to hand the baton over to the wonderful violist and musician, Richard O'Neill, and wish the group every success for their future together!” The quartet’s latest appointment celebrates the extraordinary journey of the Takács since its foundation in 1975 by four Hungarian students at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. Each member is steeped in the Hungarian/Central European roots and traditions of the quartet, absorbed over decades of collaboration and commitment, and they are now fêted as “arguably the greatest string quartet in the world” (The Guardian, May 2018). O’Neill joins founding member, cellist András Fejér, English first violinist Edward Dusinberre and American second violinist Harumi Rhodes, who is of Japanese-Russian descent. The Takács affirms the power of the string quartet to foster communication and cooperation across cultures, nationalities and generations.

Richard O’Neill, who is renowned as both a chamber musician and Grammy-nominated soloist, adds, “Joining the Takács Quartet is the greatest honor of my life. I am thrilled to follow in the footsteps of one of my heroes, the great Geraldine Walther, whom I have listened to and adored since I was a child. I look forward to the joy of making music with Ed, Harumi and András and will do my best to uphold the esteemed tradition of the Takács Quartet.”

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Praised by the New York Times for his “elegant, velvety tone”, violist Richard O'Neill has distinguished himself as one of the great instrumentalists of his generation. He has appeared as soloist with the world’s top orchestras including the London, Los Angeles, Seoul, and Euro-Asian Philharmonics, and he has worked with distinguished musicians and conductors including Andrew Davis, Vladimir Jurowski, Francois Xavier Roth, Leonard Slatkin and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He is in his 13th and final season as Artistic Director of Ensemble DITTO, as well as Artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Principal Violist of Camerata Pacifica. O’Neill is a Grammy-nominated Universal Music/Deutsche Grammophon recording artist who has made 10 solo albums and many other chamber music recordings, earning multiple platinum discs. He has appeared on major TV networks in South Korea and enjoyed huge success with his 2004 KBS documentary "Human Theater" which was viewed by over 12 million people, and his 2013 series "Hello?! Orchestra" which featured his work with a multicultural youth orchestra for MBC and led to an International Emmy in Arts Programming and a feature length film. He serves as Goodwill Ambassador for the Korean Red Cross, The Special Olympics and UNICEF, and serves on the faculty of the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. Visit: www.richard-oneill.com.