The celebrated Dover Quartet, the young, Grammy-nominated ensemble brimming with prestigious awards and residencies, concludes its critically acclaimed, three-volume Beethoven cycle with the composer’s five monumental, revolutionary Late Quartets and imposing Grosse Fuge.

The triple-CD release comprises Beethoven’s very last compositions – remarkable and often daunting works that upended the concept of the string quartet. Many critics and scholars consider them the ultimate expression of Beethoven’s artistry. At the same time, lyrical, songlike “vocal” writing pervades the Late Quartets, delighting the same audiences who flocked to Rossini’s operas.

The Dover’s first two Beethoven installments were greeted with ecstatic reviews: “Beethoven would find it hard to believe that his quartets could be played with such perfection of execution, such beauty of tone, such nuance of ex-pression, and such keen understanding of his music’s meaning and intent” (Fanfare); “Their Beethoven is, simply, perfection” (Classical CD Reviews).

This is the Dover Quartet’s fifth Cedille Records album, following Volumes 1 and 2 of their Beethoven cycle; Voices of Defiance, a recording of 20th-century works; and Tribute, an all-Mozart album that marked the ensemble’s recording debut. Dover’s The Schumann Quartets (Azica Records) received a 2021 Grammy Award nomination.

Declared “one of the best” of today’s “truly wonderful younger quartets” (BBC Music Magazine), the Dover Quartet has followed a “practically meteoric” career trajectory (Strings) to become one of the most in-demand chamber ensembles in the world. In addition to its faculty role as the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music, Dover holds residencies with the Kennedy Center, Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, Artosphere, and Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival.

The group’s awards include a sweep of all prizes at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, grand and first prizes at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and prizes at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. Its honours include the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award, and Lincoln Center’s Hunt Family Award.