Born in Budapest, Gábor Takács-Nagy is considered one of today’s most authentic exponents of Hungarian music and was awarded the Liszt Prize in 1982 and in 2017 the prestigious Béla Bartók-Ditta Pásztory Prize. In March 2021 he received the Érdemes Művész award for Artist of Merit, presented by the Hungarian government to artists of long service in Hungarian national culture, and in December 2021, the Prima Primissima Prize, reserved for artists, athletes, and representatives of scientific life, culture, and education for their performances and exemplary human qualities and values.

From 1975 to 1992 he was founding member and leader of the acclaimed Takács Quartet. In 1996 he founded the Takács Piano Trio and in 1998 established the Mikrokosmos Quartet, receiving the Excellentia Award of the magazine Pizzicato for its 2008 recording of Bartók’s quartets.

In 2002 Gábor Takács-Nagy turned to conducting and in 2007 became Music Director of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra. Since September 2011, he is Music Director of the Manchester Camerata, one of the UK’s leading chamber orchestras, and is Principal Guest Conductor of the Budapest Festival Orchestra since September 2012. He was Professor of String Quartet at the Haute École de Musique in Geneva until August 2021 and was awarded honorary membership of the Royal Academy of Music in London in June 2012.

On the 26th May 2023, Deutsche Gramophon will release  all nine Beethoven Symphonies (live recordings from 2009-2022 ) with the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra conducted by Gabor Takacs-Nagy. 

William Hagen has performed as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician across the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In 2022/23, William performs with orchestras around the United States, makes his debut with the Orquesta Filharmónica de Bogotá, and performs as soloist and chamber musician in several countries in Europe.

As soloist, William has appeared with the Chicago Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Detroit Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony (HR Sinfonieorchester), San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, and many others around the globe.

As recitalist and chamber musician, William has performed at venues such as Wigmore Hall and the Louvre, and collaborated with artists such as Steven Isserlis, Gidon Kremer, Edgar Meyer, and Tabea Zimmerman, among others. He maintains an active schedule on both sides of the Atlantic, making frequent trips to Europe and cities around the US to play a wide range of repertoire.

In 2020, William released his debut album, “Danse Russe,” with his good friend and frequent collaborator, pianist Albert Cano Smit. The album is available on all streaming platforms.

A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, William began playing the violin at the age of 4, studying the Suzuki method with Natalie Reed and then Deborah Moench. He studied with Itzhak Perlman and Catherine Cho at the Juilliard School, Christian Tetzlaff at the Kronberg Academy, and was a longtime student of Robert Lipsett, studying with Mr. Lipsett for 11 years both at the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts and at the Colburn Conservatory of Music. In 2015, William won 3rd prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels.

William performs on the 1732 “Arkwright Lady Rebecca Sylvan” Antonio Stradivari, and on a violin bow by Francois Xavier Tourte, both on generous loan from the Rachel Barton Pine Foundation.