O’Neill will Replace Walther in 2020 Following Fifteen Remarkable Years with the Quartet

The Takács Quartet, an internationally acclaimed string quartet entering its 45th year, recently announced its next step into continued evolution and a change in its line-up. 

After a 15-year stint with the quartet, Violist Geraldine Walther will step down and retire from the group in May 2020. Richard O’Neill—a Korean American violist—will step in to fill her shoes. O’Neill is a celebrated chamber musician, a renowned soloist, and a Grammy-nominated artist.

The quartet is thrilled to welcome O’Neill to the group. 

“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.”

Walther, who has loved being a part of such a critically acclaimed and celebrated quartet, is also excited to see O’Neill integrate into the group. 

“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 latest appointment by the Takács celebrates and pays homage to the extraordinary journey the quartet has taken on since it was established in 1975 by four Hungarian students at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. In the years since its foundation, the Takács has been established as “arguably the greatest string quartet in the world” (according to the Guardian, May 2018). 

Newcomer O’Neill will join founding member and cellist András Fejér, American second violinist Harumi Rhodes, and English first violinist Edward Dusinberre. 

For O’Neill, this is one of the greatest honors of his 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,” he said. “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.”