Takacs violist will move on after season

The Takacs Quartet grabbed local audiences last season with a much-praised Beethoven cycle under the auspices of UCLA Live. But the last time all four members will play together locally will be Oct. 7, because violist Roger Tapping is going to leave the ensemble he joined 10 years ago to spend more time with his family now that his wife, Peabody Trio cellist Natasha Brofsky, has joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music. The family plans to move to Boston from Boulder, Colo., where the Takacs have been in residence since 1983 at the University of Colorado.

“Because my wife and I are performing chamber musicians whose ensembles are based in different cities and tour internationally, it has become increasingly difficult to spend time together with our two young daughters, ages 2 and 6,” Tapping said in a statement last week.

“When Natasha was offered the job at the New England Conservatory, it became apparent that the best decision for our family was for us to move together to Boston, making it necessary for me to leave the Quartet.”

Tapping is the newest member of the group, which was formed in 1975 at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary, by Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Karoly Schranz, Gabor Ormai and Andras Fejer when all four were students. Violinist Schranz and cellist Fejer are still with the group; first violinist Edward Dusinberre joined in 1993. A search for Tapping’s successor is underway.

The violist will complete the coming season, whose highlights include the complete Beethoven cycle at New York’s Lincoln Center, over six performances, and a three-city tour with the entire Bartok string quartet cycle, including a stop in Irvine on Oct. 7.