On their ECM New series debut, the Boston-based Parker Quartet, hailed by the Washington Post for "exceptional virtuosity and imaginative interpretation," play music of Gyorgy Kurtag and are joined by violist Kim Kashkashian, one of the quartet's early mentors, to play Dvorak. At first glance, the pairing of the two composers chosen by the Parker Quartet and violist Kim Kashkashian for their recording on ECM New Series may appear unusual. However, Gyorgy Kurtag and Antonin Dvorak have more in common than a fleeting glimpse at their oeuvre - an extremely narrow, concentrated catalogue of works in the one case and a multifaceted life's work that lavishly encompasses all musical genres in the other - would suggest. In this powerful programme of contrasts, Dvorak's outgoing String Quintet No. 3, composed in America in 1893, is framed by two of Kurtag's concentrated, meticulously-shaped works - the Six Moments musicaux (2005) and the Officium breve in memoriam Andreae Szervanszky (1988/89). Throughout, the Parker Quartet's feeling for colour and texture is in evidence. The quartet's insights into Kurtag's soundworld have been developed through extensive work with the Hungarian composer whose influence on this new recording makes this compelling listening. The album was recorded at Zurich's Radio DRS Studio. Press:"Whether in Kurtg's intimate and exploratory music, or Dvork's expressive Quintet, this is striking chamber playing." - Gramophone (Editor's Choice)"Virtuosity and emotion are one; this is haunting, phenomenally accomplished playing, captured in forensic detail." - Gramophone"The 'Moments musicaux' show Kurtg's uncanny ability to create and sustain an immediate mood: most of them come in at under three minutes, but feel much bigger in their emotional reach, helped by the extraordinary dedication and understated virtuosity of the Parker Quartet." - **** BBC Music Magazine"Works by wildly contrasting composers partnered together are a revelation...In the Six moments musicaux (2005), the Parker Quartet - brilliantly captured in this recording - conjures a kaleidoscopic, post-Expressionistic range of mood and atmosphere, ranging from searing vertical sheets of dissonance to barely perceptible glowing half-lights. The result is nothing short of astonishing." - Strad