How much is too much? That's a question that may have been circulating in the minds of listeners at the Takacs Quartet concert at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland on Monday night.

The anticipation had focused on Franck's Piano Quintet, with French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, which was set to cap the program and the season for the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society. As for the rest, Brahms' third quartet was a Romantic offering, too similar in texture to the Franck, and Haydn's "Rider," a simple enough warm-up, was a common enough opening move for most quartets.

But that was not to be in the hands of the Takacs. This quartet, as we heard in its Bartok concerts in 2003 and 2005, likes to present an overriding point of view. And, once again, despite bringing with it recent awards from BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone and the Japanese Record Academy, the Takacs was not content to rest on its laurels.

Not by a long shot. The members of the quartet were virtually dancing in their seats as they pranced through the "Rider." They forecast what was to come: an essentially Slavic cadenza from first violinist Edward Dusinberre, a bit of tremolo influence that would be expanded later in the Franck quintet and a race to the finish.

Their version of Haydn's "Rider'' was more Romantic than usually befits the father of the string quartet, and it begged more questions. Was this overdone? Could the quartet sustain this level of playing? As it turned out, the Takacs tapped the inherent thematic content hidden in the program, not only Romantic, but an emotional commitment that was inherently seductive.

Some critics have noted that Brahms struggled in composing for the quartet idiom. While looking back at the classical tradition and heralding what was to come, the Takacs gave it a sweeping sense of freedom, as vigorous about the pianissimos as it was about the fortes, but without losing its refinement of attack and release.

There was youthful passion to be found in the opening elements and a deep connective tissue in the second movement. Violist Geraldine Walther took the lead in gleaming solo passages during the third, the rest of the players almost Franckian as they undulated around her.

Which brings us to the finale. It seemed as if the Takacs had already spent itself. Was there still more to give? The members took a few extra moments to gather their forces at the start before virtually exploding into the Franck. They gave way to Thibaudet, who countered with an elegant simplicity. It was symbolic of Franck's style, the ebb and flow, with chromatic escalations coming in tidal waves.

Thibaudet and the Takacs succeeded in building what had gone before with an uncommon sense of urgency, playing with emotional danger, driving on to the climax. But the strings were never overwhelmed by Thibaudet's ease of power and nothing was forced. So the voices were independently presented, but leashed together in a single purpose, culminating in one of the most exciting performances in memory.

At the end there was surprisingly no encore. But, as my companion remarked, "How could you top that?"