Miro Quartet Competitors

For over 50 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet — David Harrington (violin), Gabriela Díaz (violin), Ayane Kozasa (viola), and Paul Wiancko (cello) — has pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to continually reimagine the string quartet experience. In the process, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential groups of our time, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 70 recordings of extraordinary breadth and creativity, collaborating with many of the world’s most accomplished composers and performers, and commissioning more than 1,000 works and arrangements for string quartet. The cornerstone of Kronos’ mission is the unique, live performance voice of the string quartet — the coming together in conversation of distinct but integrated voices. It is from this artistic foundation that Kronos explores, extends, and enhances the musical experience for artists, audiences, and global communities. Kronos achieves its mission as a not-for-profit organization through a wide variety of programmatic initiatives including commissioning, performing, presenting, recording, publishing, archiving, teaching, mentoring, and encouraging the next generations of artists and audiences.

Founded in 1989, the SLSQ continues to build its reputation for imaginative and spontaneous music making through an energetic commitment to the great established quartet literature as well as the championing of new works by such composers as John Adams, Osvaldo Golijov, Ezequiel Viñao, and Jonathan Berger. Lesley Robertson and Geoff Nuttall are founding members of the group and hail from Edmonton, Alberta, and London, Ontario, respectively. Christopher Costanza is from Utica, New York, and joined the group in 2003. Owen Dalby, returning to his native Bay Area roots, began his first season in 2015. Together, the musicians perform over 120 concerts annually and call Stanford University their home.

The Takcs Quartet is one of the world's pre-eminent string quartets, performing 80 concerts a year worldwide. In residence at the University of Colorado, Boulder, the members of the quartet are also Associate Artists at London's Wigmore Hall. The quartet is renowned worldwide for its innovative programming and first-class performances. The ensemble was formed in 1975 at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest by Gabor Takcs-Nagy, Kroly Schranz, Gabor Ormai and Andrs Fejér, while all four were students. It first received international attention in 1977, winning First Prize and the Critics' Prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Evian, France. Since then, the group has earned international acclaim and won numerous awards - including a Grammy, three Gramophone Awards, three Japanese Record Academy Awards and a Classical Brit. In 2001 the Takcs Quartet was awarded the Order of Merit of the Knight's Cross of the Republic of Hungary, and in March 2011 each member of the Quartet was awarded the Order of Merit Commander's Cross by the President of the Republic of Hungary. The Takcs Quartet records for Hyperion Records, with repertoire ranging from Haydn and Schubert to Britten and Jancek.