The Parker Quartet, Daniel Chong and Ken Hamao, violin; Jessica Bodner, viola, and Kee-Hyun Kim, cello, perform Beethoven's epic String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, op. 132 in New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall. Founded in Boston in 2002, the Parker Quartet’s members hold graduate degrees in performance and chamber music from the New England Conservatory of Music and the Juilliard School, and the Quartet was part of the NEC’s prestigious Professional String Quartet Training Program from 2006–2008. Some of their most influential mentors include the original members of the Cleveland Quartet as well as Kim Kashkashian, György Kurtág, and Rainer Schmidt.
The String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132, by Ludwig van Beethoven, was written in 1825, by which time Beethoven was completely deaf. It is one of the group known as the Late Quartets. Prince Nikolai Galitzine commissioned the first three quartets: numbers 12, 13 and 15. In April 1825, Beethoven was bedridden with a serious and painful stomach disorder and remained ill for about a month. His recovery from this ailment gave rise to the deeply felt slow movement of the Fifteenth Quartet, which Beethoven called "Holy song of thanks ('Heiliger Dankgesang') to the divinity, from one made well".
This performance was recorded on 17 November 2020 in one take for the "First Monday at Jordan Hall" concert series. The complete concert, along with commentary by host and series director Laurence Lesser, can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/ymQWSYSpGzA
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