Károly Schranz is a Hungarian violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

ist, founding and current member of the Takács Quartet

Takács Quartet

The Takács Quartet is a string quartet, founded in Hungary, and now based in Boulder, Colorado, United States.- History :In 1975, four students at the Music Academy in Budapest, Gabor Takács-Nagy , Károly Schranz , Gabor Ormai , and András Fejér formed The Takács Quartet...

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Biography

Born in Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

, Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, he began playing the violin at the age of four, receiving his first lessons from a Gypsy violinist neighbor. At fourteen he entered the Béla Bartók Secondary Music School in Budapest and upon graduation from that institution he entered the prestigious Franz Liszt Academy of Music

Franz Liszt Academy of Music

The Franz Liszt Academy of Music is a concert hall and music conservatory in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875...

. It was there in 1975 that he and three classmates formed what would become the Takács Quartet

Takács Quartet

The Takács Quartet is a string quartet, founded in Hungary, and now based in Boulder, Colorado, United States.- History :In 1975, four students at the Music Academy in Budapest, Gabor Takács-Nagy , Károly Schranz , Gabor Ormai , and András Fejér formed The Takács Quartet...

. Károly was the recipient of the Franz Liszt Prize in 1983. He currently lives in Boulder, Colorado

Boulder, Colorado

Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...

 with his wife and three daughters, and with the Takács Quartet is on the music faculty of the University of Colorado at Boulder

University of Colorado at Boulder

The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...

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Evaluation

New York Times music critic Jeremy Eichler wrote of Károly: "...The second violinist, Karoly Schranz, is the musical heart of this quartet, and he often leans toward the center of the ensemble as he plays, urging the phrases forward from deep within the fray. He and the cellist, Andras Fejer, are the only two original members remaining, though their dark, rich Central European tone is still at the core of the quartet's sound."

External links

• Takács Quartet official website