From the complete Bartók cycle (2013/14), to the heroic Beethoven cycle (2016/17), to quintets with pianist Garrick Ohlsson (2017/18), the Takács ensemble seems to raise the bar with each visit, inviting us on their journey through centuries of repertoire and “revealing the familiar as unfamiliar, making the most traditional of works feel radical once more” (The New York Times). The quartet returns with two diverse programs that showcase this ensemble’s vast expressive range and ability to bring us to the edge of our seats in both rapt contemplation and delight.

Sun, Feb 24, 3pm

Grieg’s daring, dense Quartet No. 1 is a rarely performed gem, and Bartók’s Quartet No. 1 was his first major work to employ folk rhythms and melodies encountered during his excursions to the Hungarian countryside. The fourth of Haydn’s imaginative Op. 20 quartets finds the composer at the height of his powers.

Sun, Mar 3, 3pm

For its second program, the quartet performs Bartók’s fiery final quartet, and the last major work Mendelssohn composed before his death, an eloquent eulogy to his beloved sister Fanny. The first of Haydn’s Op. 76 quartets is grand in vision, and full of surprises.