The Schumann Quartets Dover Quartet

• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): String Quartet No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 41 No. 1:
• 1String Quartet No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 41 No. 1: I. Introduzione. Andante espressivo - Allegro09:09
• 2String Quartet No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 41 No. 1: II. Scherzo. Presto - Intermezzo - Tempo I03:50
• 3String Quartet No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 41 No. 1: III. Adagio06:21
• 4String Quartet No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 41 No. 1: IV. Presto06:16
• String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 41 No. 2:
• 5String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 41 No. 2: I. Allegro vivace06:03
• 6String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 41 No. 2: II. Andante, quasi variazioni09:08
• 7String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 41 No. 2: III. Scherzo. Presto03:07
• 8String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 41 No. 2: IV. Allegro molto vivace04:58
• String Quartet No. 3 in A Major, Op. 41 No. 3:
• 9String Quartet No. 3 in A Major, Op. 41 No. 3: I. Andante espressivo - Allegro molto moderato07:23
• 10String Quartet No. 3 in A Major, Op. 41 No. 3: II. Assai agitato - Un poco adagio - Tempo risoluto07:10
• 11String Quartet No. 3 in A Major, Op. 41 No. 3: III. Adagio molto08:44
• 12String Quartet No. 3 in A Major, Op. 41 No. 3: IV. Finale. Allegro molto vivace06:57
• Total Runtime01:19:06

Info for The Schumann Quartets

The Dover Quartet, in their first release on Azica Records, have recorded the complete string quartets of Robert Schumann. The phenomenal Dover Quartet catapulted to international stardom following a stunning sweep of the 2013 Banff Competition, at which they won every prize. Named the Cleveland Quartet Award-winner, and honored with 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” (New Yorker). The Quartet serves as the quartet-in-residence for the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, Chamber Music Northwest, Artosphere, the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, and Peoples’ Symphony in New York, and was recently named the first-ever quartet-in-residence for the Kennedy Center.

Joel Link, violine
Bryan Lee, violine
Camden Shaw, violoncello
Milena Pajaro van de Stadt, viola

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.