Published: Oct. 9, 2014

walther

Geraldine Walther

By Joshua Kosman | Houston Chronicle

It's been nearly a decade since听Geraldine Walther听packed up her viola and left the ranks of the San Francisco SympCalifornia drought: Major cutbacks by many Northern Californians

hony in favor of the life of a chamber musician. It doesn't sound like she regrets the decision for a moment.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been great,鈥 she said recently, her trademark ebullience coming through the phone line from central Pennsylvania. 鈥淚t's been an education, and it鈥檚 still an education.鈥

Walther left San Francisco in 2005 after nearly 30 years as the Symphony鈥檚 principal violist to join the Tak谩cs Quartet, the brilliant Hungarian-English-American ensemble that is in residence at the听. It meant giving up a comfortable post 鈥 and a reputation as one of the orchestra鈥檚 most admired and beloved musicians 鈥 for a grueling touring schedule and a whole new body of music.