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Even for a Grammy Award-winning group, playing all 17 Beethoven quartets in live concert is an act of daring. Tak谩cs Quartet likes a challenge.听

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They were four musicians in a small room, just back from a performance in Los听Angeles. Spring had come to Boulder and听seemingly gone. Outside, wet snow fell听thickly. Inside, water boiled for tea.听

鈥淗e鈥檚 looking at the stars, right?鈥� violist听Geraldine Walther said as the ensemble,听bows drawn, prepared to play a serene听passage Beethoven supposedly wrote听after a night of stargazing.

Soon the members of the Tak谩cs Quartet听would be on the road again: Kansas听City, Palo Alto and Philadelphia, then on听to Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and听London鈥檚 Wigmore Hall.

But on this day, a Wednesday in late听March, the string quartet was hunkered听down in its studio at CU-Boulder鈥檚听College of Music, working through tricky听parts of Dvorak鈥檚 Opus No. 105 and Beethoven鈥檚听Opus 59, No. 2.

The music started and 鈥� stopped.

鈥淢y F isn鈥檛 right,鈥� said lead violinist Ed听Dusinberre, repositioning for another take.

Sound erupted again.听To a visitor鈥檚 untrained ears, it all听seemed masterful. But the quartet听sensed ways to render the masterpiece听more fully, subtly, better.

鈥淭wo before the fortissimo, the D-flat鈥︹�澨齭omeone called out after another pause.

鈥淭he bowing is good here!鈥� said听cellist Andr谩s Fej茅r.

Practice is a constant for the Grammy听Award-winning Tak谩cs Quartet (pronounced听Toh-KATCH), one of the world鈥檚听great classical string quartets and a fixture听at CU-Boulder since the founding members听defected to the United States from听Communist Hungary in the 1980s. Two听founders, Fej茅r, 60, and violinist K谩roly听Schranz, 64, remain with the group

鈥淚f we didn鈥檛 rehearse, we鈥檇 all show up听and play the notes fine,鈥� said Dusinberre,听who recently published a memoir of life听with the group, Beethoven for a Later Age:听Living with the String Quartets (University听of Chicago Press). 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a beginning.听But there wouldn鈥檛 be a consensus.鈥�

Practice is all the more vital when the听upcoming season involves performing the听complete cycle of Beethoven quartets 鈥� 17听works famed for their emotional intensity,听epic contrasts of mood and stupefying听technical complexity. Composed from 1799听to 1827 鈥� as and after Beethoven went听deaf 鈥� the pieces are hard to play, even for听virtuosos intimate with the scores.听

Dusinberre called the cycle 鈥渢he Mount听Everest for a string quartet.鈥澨�

鈥淭o focus on it, you kind of have to clear听the boards,鈥� said Walther, 65, who joined听Tak谩cs in 2005, after 29 years as principal听violist of the San Francisco Symphony. 鈥淚t鈥檚听a real commitment. Emotionally. Spiritually.听Physically. These pieces have drama.鈥�

Said Dusinberre, 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 an easy听Beethoven quartet.鈥�

Founded in Budapest in 1975 by Gabor听Tak谩cs-Nagy and three fellow music听students 鈥� Schranz, Fej茅r and G谩bor听Ormai 鈥� the Tak谩cs Quartet came to international听prominence before the decade听was out, winning first prizes in a series of听major European competitions.

D茅nes Koromzay, a fellow Hungarian听who taught at CU after retiring from the听Hungarian String Quartet in 1980, invited听the group to perform at CU during听its debut North American tour, in 1982.听(As accomplished artists, the Tak谩cs听members had travel privileges not then听afforded to most Hungarians.)

The ensemble found Boulder a congenial听place to focus on music without the听distractions of life under communism.听They also found a patron in Denver native听Fay Shwayder, a daughter of the Samsonite听luggage founder with a talent for tennis and听piano and a love for classical music.

In 1986, after subsequent lengthy visits听to Colorado, the original Tak谩cs members听and their families defected and settled in听Boulder. With initial financial support from听Shwayder, who died in 2005, the group has听been in residence at CU-Boulder ever since.

In the ensuing three decades, Tak谩cs has听solidified its position as one of the world鈥檚听premier classical string quartets. The group听performs about 80 concerts a year, including听dates at some of the world鈥檚 most听famous concert halls.

Nominated for Grammys five times,听most recently last year, Tak谩cs won听one in 2002, for an album of middle听Beethoven quartets. The quartet has听performed with the actors Meryl Streep听and Philip Seymour Hoffman and with听the poet Robert Pinksy. In May the听group was scheduled to record its 18th听album at a studio in Wales.

(Over time, the Tak谩cs lineup has听changed: Founder Tak谩cs-Nagy left in听1992, soon succeeded by Dusinberre, then听24 and straight out of Juilliard. Violist听Roger Tapping played with Tak谩cs for听10 years following co-founder Ormai鈥檚听1995 death. Walther joined in 2005 after听Tapping moved to Juilliard.)

Amid all the rehearsing, performing听and globetrotting, the musicians tend to听duties on campus, where they are formally听Christoffersen Faculty Fellows. In听addition to playing 10 sold-out concerts听each year, they mentor younger string听quartets also in residence at CU and give听lessons to advanced string students.

Beethoven's quartets require听a real commitment. Emotionally. Spiritually.听Physically. These pieces have drama.

鈥淢ost top university music programs听have professional string quartets in听residence, but we鈥檙e unusually fortunate听to have had the Tak谩cs on our faculty for听more than three decades,鈥� said Robert听Shay, dean of the College of Music.听鈥淭hey are unquestionably one of the听world鈥檚 finest quartets.鈥�

All four Tak谩cs members live in or听near Boulder and rehearse together at听the College of Music. Lately they鈥檝e been听playing a lot of Beethoven.听In its long history, the quartet has听performed the complete Beethoven cycle听several times, most recently in London听in 2009, and recorded all 17 pieces. And听yet playing them to the musicians鈥� own听satisfaction is a fearsome endeavor.听

This is due partly to the works鈥� composition听over decades: They manifest the听dramatic evolution of Beethoven鈥檚 epic听powers and the turbulent feelings of the听deaf genius, who could hear his creations听only in his imagination.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like a journey,鈥� said violinist Schranz.听鈥淵ou can go into this composer鈥檚 mind.鈥�

Also, there are many ways to interpret听the quartets, none easy to execute, and听there鈥檚 the matter of reconciling the听varying interpretations of four master听musicians. Then there鈥檚 the trial of physically听performing the music: Playing the听full cycle takes about 12 hours. (Tak谩cs听plays them in six two-hour concerts,听each with selections from the early,听middle and late quartets.)

鈥淥ur minds are usually ahead of our听physical abilities,鈥� said cellist Fej茅r. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e听constantly trying to catch up with what听you鈥檙e hearing in your mind.鈥�

Said violist Walther: 鈥淚t鈥檚 like running a听marathon 10 times.鈥�

For the musicians, of course, the Herculean听nature of the task is part of its appeal.听

鈥淚f there were only one way to play听them,鈥� said Dusinberre, 鈥渨e鈥檇 have stopped听a long time ago."

Photos听by Keith Saunders (top); Robert Torres