Description

Joel Link, violin | Bryan Lee, violin | Milena Pajaro-Van de Stadt, viola | Camden Shaw, cello
The Dover Quartet, winner of the 2013 Banff Competition and Cleveland Quartet Award and first ever quartet-in-residence at the Kennedy Center, is considered “the young American string quartet of the moment” (The New Yorker). The Quartet performs the tremendous Shostakovich Quartet No. 8 and the moving Brahms Quartet in C minor, Op. 51.

The phenomenal Dover Quartet catapulted to international stardom following a stunning sweep of the 2013 Banff Competition. Recently named the Cleveland Quartet Award winner, and awarded the coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Dover has become one of the most in-demand ensembles in the world. The Quartet’s rise from up-and-coming young ensemble to occupying a spot at the top of their field has been “practically meteoric” (Strings). With its burnished warmth, incisive rhythms, and natural phrasing, the Quartet’s distinctive sound has helped confirm its status as “the young American string quartet of the moment” (The New Yorker). The Quartet serves as the quartet-in-residence for the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, Chamber Music Northwest, as well as many others, and was recently named the first-ever quartet-in-residence for the Kennedy Center. Additionally, during this past season, the Quartet was invited by the maverick filmmaker David Lynch to be featured at his Los Angeles Festival of Disruption. 

Cedille Records released the Quartet’s sophomore album, entitled Voices of Defiance: 1943, 1944, 1945 in 2017. The recording takes listeners on a powerful journey through works written during World War II by Ullmann, Shostakovich, and Laks. They have also released an acclaimed all-Mozart recording entitled Tribute. The group has collaborated with world-class artists like Marc-André Hamelin and Peter Serkin, the Escher Quartet, and many more. In 2016, the Dover Quartet was recognized with the Hunt Family Award, one of the inaugural Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Awards, and in past years has taken top prizes at the Fischoff Competition and the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.
                                                                                                                                                                                       
The Quartet members studied at the Curtis Institute and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. It was at Curtis that the Quartet first formed, and its name pays tribute to Dover Beach by fellow Curtis alumnus Samuel Barber. The group has since returned for residencies to Rice and to Curtis. The Dover Quartet is dedicated to sharing its music with under-served communities and is actively involved with Music for Food, an initiative enabling musicians to raise resources and awareness in the fight against hunger.
 
"The Dover Quartet players have it in them to become the next Guarneri String Quartet — they're that good.” Washington Post
“With their exceptional interpretative maturity, tonal refinement, and taut ensemble,” the Dover Quartet is “pulling away from their peers.” -- Strad
Artist Website: http://www.doverquartet.com/


PROGRAM
SHOSTAKOVICH: Quartet No. 8 (20’)
BRAHMS: Quartet in C minor, Op. 51, No. 1 (33’)
 
Tickets: $10                          (available up to 48 hours after broadcast)