Parker Quartet

Bold programming and cross-disciplinary initiatives are hallmarks of the Quartet’s artistic identity. In 2024, they curated a program centered on nature and heritage, combining music with poetry by Arthur Sze and Victoria Chang, and featuring a new commission by Anthony Cheung for quartet and mezzo-soprano. During their 20th anniversary season (2022–23), the Parker Quartet launched The Beethoven Project, a multifaceted initiative including: performances of the complete Beethoven string quartets; commissioned encores from six contemporary composers; the development of a digital video library highlighting each work; and community-centered performances in non-traditional venues across Boston, including homeless shelters and youth programs.

Deeply committed to the music of our time, the Quartet has commissioned and premiered works by Augusta Read Thomas, Felipe Lara, Jaehyuck Choi, Zosha Di Castri, Paul Wiancko, Anthony Cheung, Wang Lu, Michi Wiancko, Sky Macklay, and Jeremy Gill. As part of Miller Theatre’s Mission: Commission podcast, they recorded new works by Kate Soper, Oscar Bettison, and Vijay Iyer—celebrating the creative process and contemporary collaboration.

Their artistic partnerships span a wide range of disciplines and genres. Past collaborators include pianists Menahem Pressler, Anne-Marie McDermott, Orion Weiss, Shai Wosner, Billy Childs, and Vijay Iyer; clarinetists and composers Jörg Widmann, Anthony McGill, and Charles Neidich; flutist Claire Chase; and violist Kim Kashkashian. The Quartet is also a proud supporter of Kashkashian’s Music for Food initiative, performing in concerts nationwide to benefit food banks and social service organizations.

Recording remains a central component of the Quartet’s artistic output. Their 2021 ECM release, featuring Dvořák’s Viola Quintet with Kim Kashkashian alongside works by György Kurtág, was described by The Strad as “nothing short of astonishing,” and by Gramophone as “defined by virtuosity so agile that it’s indistinguishable from the process of emotional expression.” Their 2019 recording of three Beethoven quartets (Monte Carlo’s Festival Printemps des Arts) earned accolades from Diapason for its “fearlessness, exceptional control, and attention to detail.” Additional recordings include Mendelssohn on Nimbus Records, Bartók on Zig-Zag Territoires, and the complete Ligeti Quartets on Naxos—a performance that garnered the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance.

The Parker Quartet currently serves as Professors of the Practice and Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at the Department of Music at Harvard University. They also hold visiting residencies at the University of South Carolina and the Walnut Hill School for the Arts.

Founded and based in Boston, the Quartet’s numerous honors include winning the Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Grand Prix and Mozart Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, and Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award.