What follows are reviews of concerts given by former students of Kató Havas in Sarasota, Florida in June of 1988. 14 players came from the United States and one from New Zealand to perform at three different locations.

“There is uniformity of style in the group’s playing. At first you don’t realize what it is and then it hits you: there is absolutely no sense of strain, all in harmony, both musically and emotionally. You don’t hear a bow on any string. All you hear is musical tone, glorious musical tone. It is as if the musicians were breathing together. I have never heard such warm, mellow tone from any group. Also, their execution is sparklingly clean, each note perfectly articulated. Their trills were alternately like champagne, bubbling and heady, or like the ripples on a pool at night reflecting the moonlight. They have great precision, every cutoff was perfect. Their dynamics were dynamite, the strength of sound was awe-inspiring, again with no strain. There was a freshness and an excitement in their playing that was captivating. My notes say warmth, warmth, warmth. It is too good a group for there not to be a second season”. Kenneth Blount, The Gondolier, June 25, 1988

“The immediate impact of this 14-member ensemble on its audience comes from an almost palpable rhythmic pulsation welling up from the innermost core of the players. Violinists and violists seem to expand and reach out across the barrier between performer and listener…. Gradually, this free-flowing energy involves the audience, which becomes totally absorbed in, and part of, the music.” From Florence Fisher, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, June 28, 1988.