Mozart, String Quartet in F, K. 590
Caroline Shaw, Plan & Elevation (The Grounds of Dumbarton Oaks)
Bedrich Smetana, String Quartet No. 1 in E minor, “From My Life”

The Dover Quartet is the very model of a modern young classical ensemble. Boasting a fistful of international prizes, the promising American quartet plays with impeccable refinement and offers judicious interpretations of the standard repertory.

The opening piece of the Dover Quartet’s recital at the Kennedy Center Family Theater on Monday night, Mozart’s String Quartet in F (K. 590), demonstrated why the ensemble became the darling of the competition circuit. The quartet’s sound was pristine and immaculately balanced, exemplifying Mozart’s concertante style to the letter. But while the quartet colored beautifully within the lines, its interpretation was a little self-effacing in its reticence to shape expressive lines and lean into Mozart’s dissonances and agitated rhythms…

Read the full review here (Washington Post, January 10, 2017).