Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Korean-American violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill joins world-renowned Takacs Quartet
Korea's beloved violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill, left, will join the Takacs Quartet next June. The famous quartet as established in Budapest in 1975. Courtesy of CREDIA
By Anna J. Park
By Anna Park
Korean American violist Richard Yongjae O'Neill will join the Takacs Quartet, one of the world's most celebrated quartets ― next June.
Established in 1975 at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Hungary, the Takacs Quartet garnered numerous honors and awards, including Grammys Awards, Gramophone Awards and the Classic Brit Awards.
The quartet has four members ― cellist and the only remaining founding member Andras Fejer, first violinist Edward Dusinberre, second violinist Harumi Rhodes, and violist Geraldine Walther. Walther will be retiring in May 2020, and O'Neill will be the replacement.
O'Neill said in a press statement that he was thrilled to follow in Walther's footsteps.
“Joining the Takacs Quartet is the greatest honor of my life,” he said. “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. I look forward to the joy of making music with Ed, Harumi and Andras and will do my best to uphold the esteemed tradition of the Takacs Quartet.”