This preview is provided by Chamber Music Raleigh.
Chamber Music Raleigh is proud to present one of the most sought-after quartets in the world, the Dover Quartet, at 3 pm Sunday February 21 at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. These outstanding artists all graduated from the renowned Curtis Institute of Music, where they formed a quartet originally named the Old City String Quartet. Under that name, the group won the Grand Prize and Gold Medal in the 2010 Fischoff National Chamber Music competition, the world’s largest. They spent the years from 2011 to 2013 refining their skills in residence at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. They can number as mentors some of the most distinguished chamber musicians of the last few decades, such as Shmuel Ashkenazi, Joseph Silverstein, Arnold Steinhardt, and Michael Tree.
Their rise to international stardom was highlighted by an even more prestigious win: their sweep of the awards at the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2013. The year following this triumph, they became the first ever Quartet-in-Residence at the Curtis Institute for 2013-2014; they have recently announced a three-year residency at Northwestern University. Their international touring schedule now includes 100 concerts per year all over the world. Notices have been ecstatic: “the young American string quartet of the moment” (New Yorker); “the Dover Quartet players have it in them to become the next Guarneri String Quartet” (Chicago Tribune); “string quartet nirvana” (Santa Fe New Mexican).
The players all maintain individual solo careers as well. Violinist Joel Link won a top prize at the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition; violinist Bryan Lee has performed as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra; violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt won the First Prize at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition; and cellist Camden Shaw is a frequent recitalist and recently released a solo album.
Their varied program will begin with Mozart’s well-known “Hunt” Quartet in B flat, K. 458, followed by a rare opportunity to hear Henri Dutilleux’s “Ainsi la nuit” (Thus the night). M. Dutilleux, who died in 2013, was a distinguished French composer whose unique style built on the traditions of Ravel, Debussy, and Albert Roussel; his quartet is regarded as one of his most important works. The program will conclude with Shostakovich’s Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 68 (1944). As the opus number indicates, Shostakovich came late to writing quartets; when his second (out of 15) was written, he had already composed eight symphonies. Like Beethoven, he used the medium for some of his most profound musical statements.
Tickets: http://www.chambermusicraleigh.org or at the door Adults $28, Young Professionals $15, College Students $10. Students under 18 are free at the door with a ticketed adult.
Stephen Reynolds
for Chamber Music Raleigh
