Discover
Artist Spotlight | Camden Shaw
In celebration of Cedille’s upcoming album release, the Dover Quartet’s Beethoven Complete String Quartets box set, we are proud to feature the Dover’s Camden Shaw in our Artist Spotlight series, where Chicago’s classical artists discuss the music important to them.
From Camden:
Two years ago in Goshen Indiana, the last notes of Opus 131 rang out heavily from the Dover Quartet and marked the end of a three-year endeavor: recording the full Beethoven quartet cycle. It remains difficult to describe the enormity of this project for us; the sheer effort- the weight of responsibility, the lightness of aspiration- all driving us toward the most thorough and meaningful interpretations we could achieve. Beethoven’s presence was so potent, so omnipresent in our lives that the morning after the last recording session I felt the distinct sadness of knowing a salient period of my life had come to an end. Thankfully, our friendship with this music will remain forever- and these recordings also, as a tribute to that period of our lives, and to the astounding, evergreen dreams of a long-departed soul.
Beethoven Complete String Quartets box set is available for pre-order. To learn more about the project and purchase, click below.
Recommended
Commissioned by Cedille Records specially for our 2025 Emerging Artist Competition winner, oboist Oliver Talukder, as a companion for his Briefly Gorgeous album, Powder is a two-track single of Two Songs for voice, oboe/English horn, and piano by Delfin Demiray, who was Talukder’s classmate at the Curtis Institute of Music. The first song features Chicago mezzo, Sophia Maekawa, while Talukder performs the second song’s special effect and extended technique-infused vocal line himself (as an “overdub”), demonstrating yet another facet of his artistry.
Winner of Cedille Records’ 2025 Emerging Artist Competition, Chicago-born oboist Oliver Talukder makes his solo recording debut with Briefly Gorgeous. Joined by pianist Moriah Trenk, Talukder presents an album inspired by themes of identity, love, family, and belonging. Drawing on his Mexican and Bengali heritage and his Chicago upbringing, the program explores where classical music intersects with Latino and South Asian traditions, creating a musical portrait shaped by Talukder’s unique story.
With the new month comes a new featured playlist on Spotify — or, in this case, a refresh of our Artist Debuts on Cedille playlist, originally created in 2022 to celebrate the inaugural album by the first Emerging Artist Competition winner, saxophonist Julian Velasco.
The update is to celebrate oboist Oliver Talukder, winner of Cedille’s second competition, as well as other artists who have made their Cedille debus since 2022. (Oliver’s track will be added on Friday when his album, Briefly Gorgeous, is released.)
Enjoy Cedille’s Weekly Featured Release.