{"id":387806,"date":"2025-06-30T08:56:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T14:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradomusicfestival.org\/?p=387806"},"modified":"2025-08-07T15:22:22","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T21:22:22","slug":"dover-quartet-settles-into-chamber-musics-top-tier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradomusicfestival.org\/dover-quartet-settles-into-chamber-musics-top-tier\/","title":{"rendered":"Dover Quartet Settles into Chamber Music’s Top Tier"},"content":{"rendered":"

Interview by Kyle Macmillan<\/em><\/p>\n

After its sweep of all the prizes at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, critics regularly applauded the Dover Quartet as an emerging ensemble with abundant talent and huge potential.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what once was potential has become undeniable achievement. Simply put, the Dover has arrived. Now in its 17<\/span>th<\/span> year, kind of the start of middle age for such an ensemble, it is solidly embedded as one of the finest string quartets not just in the United States but also the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we really spend much time thinking of ourselves in any historical context,\u201d said cellist Camden Shaw, \u201cor comparing ourselves to other groups. What I can say is that at this age, we\u2019re really comfortable playing with one another, and we\u2019re comfortable being ourselves, which takes a long time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dover Quartet Makes Their Colorado Music Festival Debut<\/h3>\n

Colorado Music Festival audiences will have a chance to hear for themselves July 29<\/a>, when the Dover makes its debut on the series, with a program featuring the inaugural string quartets by three great composers: Leo\u0161 Jan\u00e1\u010dek, Robert Schumann and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Stories Behind the Setlist<\/h3>\n

Such an unusual grouping of firsts would seem to be deliberate, but Shaw called the combination a \u201ccrazy coincidence.\u201d A Dover policy is that each player gets to request a no-veto selection each season, what the players call \u201cdream pieces,\u201d and Schumann\u2019s Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 41, was violist Julianne Lee\u2019s selection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Second violinist Bryan Lee\u2019s choice was Tchaikovsky\u2019s Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11, another beloved masterpiece of the chamber-music repertoire. Rounding out the line-up is the Quartet No. 1, <\/span>The Kreutzer Sonata<\/span><\/i>, by Jan\u00e1\u010dek (1854-1928), a Czech composer whose fame came late in his career in 1916 with the opera, <\/span>Jenufa<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s two quartets are among the most important of the 20<\/span>th<\/span> century and reflect his interest in folk music and extended tonality. The first, written in 1923, was inspired by Leo Tolstoy\u2019s novella, <\/span>The Kreutzer Sonata<\/span><\/i>, about a man who kills his wife in a jealous rage after becoming convinced she has become romantically involved with a violinist with whom she had been performing the celebrated Beethoven sonata.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really wonderful,\u201d Shaw said of the Colorado line-up. \u201cbecause all three of those pieces are wildly different styles and all really inspired. That\u2019s a cool program \u2013 quite intense.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Guest Artist Spotlight: Pierre Lapointe Joins the Dover<\/h3>\n

Pierre Lapointe, a founding member of the 20-year-old Escher Quartet, will serve as guest violist for this concert and three subsequent ones elsewhere, substituting for Julianne Lee. He knows the four members of the Dover well, because the two ensembles have toured together previously, performing Felix Mendelssohn\u2019s celebrated Octet, and second violinist Bryan Lee has substituted with the Escher a few times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur styles are similar, so I think it works well,\u201d Lapointe said. \u201cWhenever Bryan joins us, it doesn\u2019t require that much rehearsing, and I\u2019m figuring it\u2019s going to be the same with them, because I\u2019ve recorded most of the pieces we\u2019re playing [with the Escher.]\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Given that the Escher and Dover quartets are both highly respected and at similar stages in their careers, it might seem only natural that they would be rivals or competitors, but they don\u2019t see it that way. \u201cBasically, the Escher and Dover go way back and help each other out whenever possible \u2013 we admire each other,\u201d Shaw said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reinventing the Quartet Model<\/h3>\n

The Colorado Music Festival concert comes as the Dover is about to embark on a major \u2013 and potentially risky \u2013 new chapter spurred by Lee, who joined the quartet in Fall 2023. \u201cWith Julianne, we really felt like we had the dream team,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cShe is an amazing colleague and an amazing player, and she really fit into the group in a way that was, frankly, uncanny.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But after touring for a year with the quartet, Lee realized she could not handle its punishing schedule and heavy-duty traveling. Not wanting to disband or lose her, the quartet instead decided to massively curtail the number of concerts it does each year from 90-120 to about 25.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lee will return to the Boston Symphony in July as assistant principal second violin, and it has agreed to give her time in her schedule so she can tour with the quartet in concentrated doses. That same month, the Dover\u2019s first violinist Joel Link, will take over as concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra and will also split time between the two ensembles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such a huge reduction in performances is all but unprecedented for a quartet of the Dover\u2019s standing. While ensembles might start out with light schedules as they try to establish themselves or pare back as they look toward retirement, rarely do they do it when they are at their peak.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shaw, who plans to devote more time to concerto and recital performances, sees it as a positive. \u201cI\u2019m really thrilled at this opportunity,\u201d he said, \u201cto keep playing together but in a really focused capacity, because it\u2019s like we\u2019re turning it into a passion project that is not going to go stale.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A Beethoven Milestone and a Chamber Music Legacy<\/h2>\n

Two important developments mark the Dover\u2019s arrival in the top tier of the quartet world, starting with its recording of the complete set of quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven, which was released in 2023 as an eight-disc boxed set on the Cedille label.<\/span><\/p>\n

Performing all 16 of the works, which span Beethoven\u2019s career and incorporate a vast range of moods, stylistic variations and technical challenges, is seen as the ultimate test for any string quartet. Shaw called the mammoth project a \u201cpinnacle\u201d moment for the group.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe amount of effort and sheer willpower that went into that \u2013 it was like nothing I\u2019ve ever done before,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen that was over, I remember waking up after the last session, three years of recording done, and it just felt like a vacation everyday for at least a month.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Carrying the Torch After Legends Retire<\/h3>\n

The second big development was the recent retirements of the famed Emerson and Orion string quartets and dissolution of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, which left a void at the top of the field that the Dover was perfectly positioned to fill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn all honesty,\u201d Shaw said, \u201csome of us have experienced a little bit more pressure on stage, feeling like there is a serious reputation to uphold, and when you\u2019re younger, if you sound great, it\u2019s seen as an amazing accident. But I think we always held ourselves to an excruciatingly high standard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s Next for the Dover Quartet?<\/h3>\n

What comes next for the Dover Quartet remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: when they take the stage on July 29, listeners can expect the same uncompromising focus, chemistry, and passion that have defined their rise to the top.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dover Quartet performs at the Colorado Music Festival on Tuesday, July 29 at 7:30 pm MT.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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For Festival details & tickets ><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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