Takács Quartet at Cal Performances

* Notes * 
The Takács Quartet played a program of Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Beethoven at Cal Performances yesterday afternoon. The playing had a lot of fire, yet with geniality as well. There were a few screechy moments in the otherwise courtly Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 71, No. 3 from Haydn, but it certainly was not boring. One could clearly hear the influence of Beethoven in Mendelssohn's Quartet in A minor, Op. 13. The end of the Intermezzo was particularly cute. Beethoven's Quartet in A minor, Op. 132 was lively and charming. The Allegro ma non tanto sounded especially fresh and the Andante of the third movement was stately.

* Tattling * 
There was a child of about 7 or 8 seated in Row O Seat 37. She had great difficulty sitting still, as one would expect for her age, and she would occasionally talk or look turn in her seat to stare at me. There was light talking from others also, a woman in the same Row seemed to fall asleep, she checked her Blackberry on at least one occasion. A watch alarm was heard at 4pm and 5pm.

After the performance, the Cal Performances Award was given out to an adorable person named "Budd." Part of the award involved staying on the stage to hear the encore, a slow movement from Mozart's "Dissonance" quartet.