Dover Quartet Archive
Voices of Defiance = String Quartets by ULLMANN, SHOSTAKOVICH, LAKS – Dover Quartet – Cedille
Voices of Defiance = ULLMANN: String Quartet No. 3, OP. 46; SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 68; LAKS: String Quartet No. 3 – Dover Quartet – Cedille CDR 90000 173, 73:06 (10/13/17) [Distr. by Naxos] *****: The Dover Quartet embraces three visions of the Holocaust, music that testifies to Humanity’s stoic resilience. The Dover Quartet presents three composers who were victims of, and who fought against, Fascism. Viktor Ullmann (1898-1944) composed his 3rd String Quartet in the concentration camp at Theresienstadt in 1943; he was murdered soon after he was moved to Auschwitz the following year. Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) composed his 2nd Quartet in Moscow in 1944, following horrific scenes during the Siege of Leningrad and the long fight between the Soviets and the Nazis. Simon Laks (1901-1983) wrote his 3rd Quartet in Auschwitz in 1945; that year he was transported to Dachau, which was liberated before he could be killed. I do not usually embrace Holocaust themes, although some readers may recall my review years ago of Great Conductors of the Third Reich, a video of those eminent artists whose participation in Nazi musical events offered legitimacy to a degenerate regime. Moreover, at an Emory […]
“Tribute” = MOZART: Quartet in B-flat; Quintet in c – Michael Tree, viola/ Dover Quartet – Cedille
Pay close attention to this one, as you are going to hear from them a whole lot more in the near future. Tribute = MOZART: Quartet in B-flat, K 589; Quintet in c, K 406 – Dover Quartet/ Michael Tree, viola (in Quintet) – Cedille CDR 90000 167, 73:10 [Distr. by Naxos] *****: Formed in 2008 at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music (recently appointed the faculty quartet in residence at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music), this is the Dover Quartet’s debut on disc, and happy the folks at Cedille who landed them. This is an auspicious entry into the recorded legacy of these pieces, and an equally auspicious entry into the glamour and time honored legacy of another quartet, the Guarneri, who themselves debuted in 1966 with an outstanding RCA recording of these same two quartets. Guarneri first violinist Arnold Steinhardt writes an introduction in the notes, and served as a coach to the quartet while still in nascent formation. To round off the circle, Guarneri violist Michael Tree plays second viola in this recording’s Quintet. It’s perhaps a little unfair to compare this release with that of the mentors, but the Dover comes out very well. Tempos are a […]