The Parrenin Quartet is a French chamber music ensemble for two violons, viola and cello.
History Created in 1944, it was the resident quartet of radio Luxembourg until 1949. Its extensive repertoire extends from quartets by Haydn to quartets by Schönberg and Bartók. It has been a member of the Domaine musical and the International Music Ensemble of Darmstadt. It has premiered more than 150 works by contemporary authors (Ligeti, Maderna, Boulez, Berio, Britten, Hans Werner Henze, Ohana, Xenakis).
Members Jacques Parrenin,Death notice first violin Marcel Charpentier (1944-1970), Jacques Ghestem (1970-1980), John Cohen (1980-) second violin Serge Collot (1944-1957), Michel Walès (1957-1964), Denes Marton (1964-1970), Jean-Claude Dewaele (1970-1980), Gérard Caussé (1980-) viola Pierre Penassou (1944-1980), René Benedetti (1980-) cello
Selected discography Ravel's String Quartet in F major EMI 1969 Debussy's String Quartet in G minor op.10 EMI 1976
References
Source Alain Pâris Dictionnaire des interprètes, series Bouquins, Éditions Robert Laffont 1989,
External links Six quatuors à cordes / Bela Bartók, comp. Quatuor Parrenin on Gallica Discography on Discogs Pierre Boulez, Livre pour quatuor, Parts I a and I b, Quatuor Parrenin (YouTube)