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Takács violist Geraldine Walther featured in Houston Chronicle

Geraldine Walther

By Joshua Kosman | Houston Chronicle

It's been nearly a decade sinceÌýGeraldine WaltherÌýpacked 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.

“It’s been great,� she said recently, her trademark ebullience coming through the phone line from central Pennsylvania. “It's been an education, and it’s still an education.�

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

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