Mozart: Tribute Dover Quartet

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): String Quartet No. 22 in B-Flat Major, K. 589 Prussian No. 2:
• 1I. Allegro06:24
• 2II. Larghetto06:37
• 3III. Menuetto: Moderato06:23
• 4IV. Allegro assai03:45
• String Quartet No. 23 in F Major, K. 590 Prussian No. 3:
• 5I. Allegro moderato08:51
• 6II. Andante (Allegretto)06:21
• 7III. Minuetto: Allegretto04:03
• 8IV. Allegro04:50
• String Quintet No. 2 in C Minor, K. 406:
• 9I. Allegro09:41
• 10II. Andante04:25
• 11III. Minuetto in canone - Trio al rovescio04:14
• 12IV. Allegro06:50
• Total Runtime01:12:24

Info for Mozart: Tribute

The Dover Quartet, “the young American string quartet of the moment” (The New Yorker), makes its recording debutwith an all-Mozart album on Cedille Records honoring the soaring young ensemble’s illustrious teachers and coaches,the Guarneri Quartet.

The Dover’s debut album recalls the Guarneri’s own all-Mozart debut album on RCA Red Seal 50 years ago (1966),which featured Mozart’s final two string quartets — in B-Flat, K. 589, and F, K. 590. The Dover’s album on Cedille addsMozart’s Quintet in C Minor, K. 406, performed with none other than Michael Tree, the Guarneri’s founding violist andone of the Dover’s most valued mentors.

The Chicago Tribune proclaimed, “The Dover Quartet players have it in them to become the next Guarneri StringQuartet — they’re that good.” The Tribune cited the group’s “expert musicianship, razor-sharp ensemble, deep musicalfeeling and a palpable commitment to communication.” The Washington Post urged chamber-music lovers to “put theDover Quartet on their to-hear list.” The New York Times described the quartet’s playing as “sublime.”

Formed in 2008 at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music and recently appointed as faculty quartet in residence atNorthwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, the Dover Quartet has won multiple awards, including the GrandPrize and all three Special Prizes at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Cleveland QuartetAward in 2015.

The Dover Quartet tours widely throughout North America and overseas. During 2016 the quartet performed in theCzech Republic, Luxembourg, France, Germany, and Israel, in addition to numerous North American appearances.

The album was produced and engineered by multiple Grammy-winner Judith Sherman.

Joel Link, violin
Bryan Lee, violin
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola
Camden Shaw, cello

The Dover Quartet
catapulted to international stardom following a stunning sweep of the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, becoming one of the most in-demand ensembles in the world. The New Yorker recently dubbed them “the young American string quartet of the moment,” and The Strad raved that the Quartet is “already pulling away from their peers with their exceptional interpretive maturity, tonal refinement and taut ensemble.” In 2013-14, the Quartet was the first ever Quartet-in-Residence for the venerated Curtis Institute of Music, and is now faculty Quartet-in-Residence at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music.

In addition to winning the Grand Prize and all three Special Prizes at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Dover Quartet has continued to receive accolades: in 2015 it was announced that the group had been awarded the highly prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award, and shortly thereafter, Lincoln Center awarded the quartet the annual Hunt Family Award, as part of the organization's Emerging Artist Awards. In its early years, the quartet also won grand prize at the Fischoff Competition, and special prizes at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.

During the 2015-16 season, the Dover Quartet will perform more than 120 concerts throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. Highlights include the group's debut at Carnegie Hall, and several residencies including those at Dumbarton Oaks, Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, and People's Symphony Concerts in New York. 2016 also includes the quartet's first tour of Israel, and the recording of three albums, to be released beginning next fall. The group regularly appears with acclaimed collaborators, and this season these will include such artists as Anthony McGill, David Shifrin, Anne-Marie McDermott, Avi Avital, and Edgar Meyer. The collaborations with Avi and Edgar will include extensive tours together next season.

The Dover Quartet participates regularly in some of the continent's most reputable summer festivals, including Chamber Music Northwest, Artosphere, Bravo Vail, and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and are active proponents of new music: this season included a premier of Pulitzer-Prize winning Caroline Shaw's new quartet at Dumbarton Oaks, and next season will include the premieres of multiple commissions, including works from Richard Danielpour and Michael Djupstrom.

The Dover Quartet was formed in 2008 at the Curtis Institute of Music, and continued their studies as Graduate Quartet-in-Residence at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music from 2011-13. Because of the exceptional faculty at both of these institutions, the group draws from the musical lineage of the Cleveland, Vermeer, Concord, and Guarneri Quartets. The Quartet has been mentored extensively by Shmuel Ashkenasi, James Dunham, Norman Fischer, Kenneth Goldsmith, Joseph Silverstein, Arnold Steinhardt, Michael Tree, and Peter Wiley, and is dedicated to sharing their music with underserved communities and is an active member of Music for Food, an initiative to help musicians fight hunger in their home communities.

This album contains no booklet.