Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Dutilleux are on the November concerts
The University of South Carolina School of Music's Quartet-in-Residence, the world-renowned Parker Quartet, brings a series of public concerts, master classes, community outreach and special opportunities for chamber music enthusiasts each fall and spring.
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. In demand globally, the Quartet has appeared at the most important venues worldwide since its founding in 2002.
Quartet members Daniel Chong and Ying Xue, violins; Jessica Bodner, viola; and Kee-Hyun Kim, cello, will be at the University of South Carolina for their fall residency November 2–6 with concerts on Thursday and Sunday.
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 biennial Cleveland Quartet Award.
On Thursday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m., the Parker Quartet performs one of the monumental quartets from Beethoven’s late period, the Quartet in B flat Major opus 130, with its original finale The Grosse Fuge. After its premier, the Grosse Fuge was considered too radical; Beethoven composed an alternate final movement and the Grosse Fuge became its own stand-alone work.
The program also includes Schubert’s Quartet in G Major, D.887, which has been called chamber music on a massive scale – contrast, expansion and variation in an endless matrix of sudden contrasts in modality, texture, dynamics, rhythm and mood.
The Thursday concert takes place at the USC School of Music Recital Hall at 813 Assembly Street in Columbia, SC. Tickets are adults $15; seniors, USC faculty, staff and military $10; students $5; Purchase tickets at the door or online here.
On Sunday, November 6 at 5:00 p.m., the Parker Quartet performs a free family concert of Brahms and Dutilleux. The Brahms piano quintet went through many versions before Brahms settled on a quintet for piano and strings. Although the version for two pianos is still performed often, the final version has remained a performer and audience favorite for years. USC professor of piano, Phillip Bush, joins the Quartet on this piece.
The 20th-century work by Henri Dutilleux, Ainsi la nuit (Thus the Night), is based on a series of studies that focuses on different aspects of sound production – pizzicatos, harmonics, dynamics, contrasts and opposition of register.
The free Sunday concert takes place at Johnson Performance Hall on level one of the Darla Moore School of Business (1014 Greene St, Columbia, SC).
During the fall residency the Parker Quartet will visit schools in the Charleston and Greenville areas and schools in the Columbia area during their spring residency. The spring residency, April 5–10, also includes the annual USC Chamber Day where high school students have the opportunity to work directly with the Parker Quartet before competing for cash prizes. Applications will be accepted soon at sc.edu/music/parker-residency.
This Residency Partnership Program is supported by the Chamber Music America Endowment Fund. A grant from the Provost Office brought them to USC for the first residency and subsequent years have been supported with donations, including an anonymous $100,000 challenge gift to create a permanent endowment for the string quartet residency.
CONCERTS
Thur, Nov 3, 7:30 p.m.
Parker Quartet Concert
USC School of Music Recital Hall
Adults $15; seniors, USC faculty & staff, and military $10; students $5;
Purchase tickets at the door or online here.
Program:
Beethoven - Quartet Op.130
Schubert - Quartet in G Major, D.887
Sun, Nov 6, 5:00 p.m.
Parker Quartet Family Concert
Johnson Performance Hall, Darla Moore School of Business, level 1 – FREE
Program:
Dutilleux - Ainsi la nuit
Brahms - Piano Quintet with Phillip Bush