Internationally recognized for their “fearless, yet probingly beautiful” performances (The Strad), the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet has established itself as one of the preeminent ensembles of its generation since its founding in 2002. Renowned for their fresh interpretations of canonical works and their passionate advocacy for contemporary music, the Quartet continues to chart a dynamic artistic path rooted in both tradition and innovation.

EPSG:4326

Blodgett Chamber Music Series Presents: Parker Quartet

Harvard University

Discover anew Schubert’s glorious Cello Quintet, considered by many the most beautiful work in all of chamber music. The Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet, one of the preeminent ensembles of its generation, opens their program with the ferocious intensity of Beethoven and the minimalism of Philip Glass, setting the stage for a fascinating dialogue with Schubert’s time-suspending masterpiece.

Parker Quartet; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello

Hobby Center for the Performing Arts

The Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet — praised for performances that are “fearless, yet probingly beautiful” (The Strad) — illuminates the emotional complexity of Schubert’s chamber works.

Parker Quartet with Paul Watkins, cello

Yale University

Rainer Maria Rilke’s nine letters to aspiring poet Franz Kappus are a clarion call to artists everywhere. Maurice Ravel’s single, masterful string quartet combines with Rilke’s letters in a unique union of music and text. The production reimagines the lost letters of Franz Kappus, the young poet, completing this famous correspondence in a new concert-theater work translated by Damion Searls and reimagined as a dramatic dialogue by Bill Barclay.

TLI Presents: Letters to a Young Poet

Tanglewood Music Center

Parker Quartet

Garth Newel Music Center

Internationally acclaimed for their “fearless, yet probingly beautiful” (The Strad) performances, the Grammy-winning Parker Quartet joins clarinetist Todd Palmer in a program that opens with Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet and culminates with Copland’s picturesque Appalachian Spring. This Copland masterpiece, which was performed on the opening night of the Shalin Liu Performance Center, returns to the stage in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of that momentous event.

Appalachian Spring

Rockport Music-Shalin Liu Performance Center

When the Parker Quartet first performed at Carnegie Hall, The New York Times wrote, “Superb string quartets are plentiful ... [but this] performance set the group apart as something extraordinary.” The Grammy Award­–winning quartet’s reputation and musical command have only continued to grow—as has its remarkably broad repertoire that includes both timeless staples and music by today’s boldest artists. Experience a pair of late 19th–century masterworks by Zemlinsky and Brahms, as well as Thomas Adès’s The Four Quarters—a Carnegie Hall commission called “a fascinating, virtuosic, and spectacularly colorful journey ... proof that the string quartet genre is still alive, well, and inspiring brilliant new work” (The Washington Post).

Carnegie Hall

Internationally recognized for their inspiring performances and luminous sounds, the GRAMMY Award-winning Parker Quartet has distinguished itself as one of the preeminent ensembles of its generation. Winners of multiple international competitions, the Parker Quartet is also a recipient of the prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, and is the Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University. Members of the Quartet will also work with SFCM students in various masterclasses during their residency.

Chamber Music Tuesday with Parker Quartet

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Guest Artists visit SFCM to share their expertise with student musicians

Masterclass: Parker Quartet, chamber music

USA Laidlaw Performing Arts Center

Internationally recognized for their “fearless, yet probingly beautiful” (The Strad) performances, the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet has distinguished itself as one of the preeminent ensembles of its generation, dedicated purely to the sound and depth of their music. Inspired performances and exceptional musicianship are hallmarks of the Quartet, having appeared at the world’s most illustrious venues since its founding in 2002.

Groton Hill Music Center

Internationally recognized for their “fearless, yet probingly beautiful” (The Strad) performances, the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet has rapidly distinguished itself as one of the preeminent ensembles of its generation, dedicated purely to the sound and depth of their music. Inspired performances and exceptional musicianship are hallmarks of the Quartet, having appeared at the world’s most illustrious venues since its founding in 2002.

Inspiring performances, luminous sound, and exceptional musicianship are the hallmarks of the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet. Renowned for its dynamic interpretations and polished, expansive colors, the group has rapidly distinguished itself as one of the preeminent ensembles of its generation, dedicated purely to the sound and depth of their music. The Quartet has appeared at the world’s most important venues since its founding in 2002.

Connoisseurs Series presents the Parker Quartet

Marsh Auditorium

Serving as the Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University and as faculty members in the Harvard Department of Music, the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet, renowned for its dynamic interpretations and polished, expansive colors, has rapidly distinguished itself as one of the preeminent ensembles of its generation.  Collaborating and partnering with some of the leading musicians, the Parker Quartet approaches all of its projects with an exceptionally thoughtful intellectual and musical rigor and full, emotional commitment. Founded and based in Boston, the Parker Quartet’s numerous honors include winning the Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Grand Prix and Mozart Prize at France’s Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, and Chamber Music America’s prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award.

Christ the King Catholic Church

Titus Underwood, the Principal Oboist of the Nashville Symphony, will explore the aesthetics of Black artistry in classical music. He will share the experience of making his film, A Tale of Two Tails, and discuss how the legacy of Black artistry has influenced culture at large. This presentation will include recordings of works by Black composers such as William Grant Still, James Lee III, and Florence Price.

Concert III: Vienna's Masters

Saint Michael's College

The allure of Paris attracted many of the great artistic minds who drew inspiration from one another. Change was in the air, and composers like Debussy and Ravel experimented with exotic harmonies and textures that became the hallmarks of French music. David will discuss how the music of foreign composers like Prokofiev and Stravinsky absorbed those new sounds and made an integral contribution to Parisian musical life.

Festival Thursday

All Souls Interfaith Gathering

The Grammy-winning Parker Quartet (“something extraordinary,” New York Times) leads a Beethoven-based program that includes a work by Beethoven’s teacher, Haydn; three short works inspired by Beethoven’s Quartets, by Suzanne Farrin, Anthony Cheung, and Michi Wiancko (also heard at the Festival as violinist); and Beethoven’s monumental String Quartet, op. 130 (with the epic Grosse Fuge). The Parker Quartet illuminates Beethoven’s quartet with an engaging verbal introduction to the work.

Parker Quartet: Beethoven Illuminated

First Presbyterian Church

Inspiring performances, luminous sound, and exceptional musicianship are the hallmarks of the Grammy Award-winning Parker Quartet. Renowned for its dynamic interpretations and polished, expansive colors, the group has rapidly distinguished itself as one of the preeminent ensembles of its generation, dedicated purely to the sound and depth of their music.

Inspired by the Parker Quartet’s acclaimed Monte Carlo Beethoven album, this program celebrates the bold imagination and expressive power of Beethoven’s string quartets. Praised for performances of “fearlessness, exceptional control, and attention to detail,” the Grammy Award–winning ensemble brings its trademark intensity and insight to music that continues to redefine the possibilities of the quartet medium.

Parker Quartet

Apr 25, 2027

Parker Quartet – Beethoven String Quartets

Apr 17, 2026

Blodgett Chamber Music Series Presents: Parker Quartet

Mar 28, 2026

Parker Quartet; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello

Parker Quartet