Takács Quartet with Angie Milliken

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https://www.musicaviva.com.au/concert-season/2025/takacs-quartet-with-angie-milliken/

Date Reviewed: 15/08/2025

“Wherever I go, they ask me: ‘Spell your name.’”

It is this line from Bertolt Brecht’s poems in exile that caught composer Cathy Milliken’s ear, inspiring her to make it the emotional centrepiece of her new work, Sonnet of an Emigrant (2025). The work’s world premiere was performed by the Takács Quartet at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Thursday, 14th August.

Commissioned by Musica Viva Australia, Milliken’s composition sets eight Bertolt Brecht poems for a narrator and string quartet to explore exile, displacement and, ultimately, hope. Premiering in Melbourne before travelling to other Australian cities, the work traces the emotional journey of Brecht’s sonnets: from longing and loss to memory of home, and the transformation that comes with adapting to a new world.

“The poem is dedicated to them,” Milliken said, referring to those seeking refuge, before leaving the stage to her sister, actress Angie Milliken.

Angie fills the hall with a rare precision that makes each word land with deliberate clarity, no accident, but the result of meticulous collaboration. “Nobody wins if the text can’t be heard,” she says in the program, giving details of how she and her sister worked tirelessly, leaving nothing to chance. 

In this interplay with the Takács Quartet, Angie’s voice becomes an instrument, weaving seamlessly with the quartet while underscoring the universality of exile from Brecht’s time in Nazi Germany to Gaza, Ukraine, and Australian migration camps.

Delivered in English and German, the narration lingers long after the final note, a testament to chamber music’s enduring power to convey human experience. And yes, we very much needed the intermission to recover. Forget the toilet break, there was so much to unpack and discuss about the performance.

Throughout the evening, the Takács Quartet reminded us of their enduring brilliance. From the dramatic opening of Franz Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in G minor, Op. 74, No. 3 ‘The Rider’ (1793) to Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet in C major, Op. 59 ‘Razumovsky’ No. 3 (1808) sandwiching Milliken’s 2025 work. No matter what they perform, they bring energy, emotive subtlety and technical precision.

Beethoven’s brisk Allegro molto builds to a thrilling finale, sending the audience to their feet after first taking our breath away.

The Quartet return for an encore, with violinist Edward Dusinberre joking about the challenge following Beethoven’s frenzy. “It’s a little bit difficult to know what to play after that,” he says, earning delighted applause and calls for “Play that again!” Instead, they offer the second movement from Ravel’s string quartet, a moment of elegance after a storm. And another standing ovation.

Current quartet members Dusinberre (first violin), Harumi Rhodes (second violin), Richard O’Neill (viola), and original member András Fejér (cello) demonstrate why this ensemble, formed over 50 years ago, remains a finely tuned organism to this day.

Founded in 1975 by four students at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, the quartet was named after original member Gábor Takács-Nagy, a celebrated Hungarian violinist. Over decades, the group has adapted to membership changes while maintaining its signature sound, performing in major concert halls worldwide, from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Royal Albert Hall in London. Though they've performed at the finest venues, Edward Dusinberre praises the Melbourne Recital Theatre, stating it is a “delight and honour” to “play at this wonderful recital hall”.

The honour, of course, is all ours dear Edward; an honour gift-wrapped in humour and humanity.

Takács Quartet's impeccable synchronicity, warm tone, and interpretive imagination highlight music’s ability to speak across generations, geographies, and crises. The result is fresh, intimate, and emotionally honest, a bridge between centuries of music and the human stories that inspire it.

Melbourne audiences were reminded that classical music can be daring, relevant, and wonderfully human.

Highlights:

• The Takács Quartet ensemble itself: enough said, this is perfection in technical mastery, emotional subtlety, and ensemble chemistry. 
• Listening to Brecht’s words come alive: especially in a multicultural, dynamic city like Melbourne where the phrase "Spell your name" carries its own story.
  
• Melbourne Recital Centre: even Edward Dusinberre agrees, it's a world-class venue.
  

Who It’s For:

• Lovers of chamber music craving emotional depth and historical resonance.
  
• Contemporary music enthusiasts seeking innovative collaborations that bridge poetry and strings.
  
• Anyone moved by stories of exile, memory, and resilience.

What We Want More Of:

• More collaborations between Cathy and Angie Milliken, sisters by blood … and soul!
  
• More than one night of performances per city.
• More lessons in humanity offered through music. 

More performances:

Canberra: Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music, 16 August, 7pm

Sydney: City Recital Hall, 18 August, 7pm

Brisbane: Concert Hall, QPAC, 20 August, 7pm

Adelaide: Adelaide Town Hall, 22 August, 7.30pm

Perth: Winthrop Hall, 25 August, 7.30pm

Reviewed by Mary Sinanidis