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Episode 7 – Dover Quartet / Tribute: Dover Quartet Plays Mozart
The latest episode of Cedille’s Classical Chicago podcast features an interview with Joel Link and Milena Pajaro van de Stadt from the Dover Quartet, whose debut album Tribute: Dover Quartet Plays Mozart will be released on Cedille Records on October 14.
Hailed as “the young American string quartet of the moment” (The New Yorker), the Dover Quartet makes its recording debut with an all-Mozart album on Cedille Records honoring the soaring young ensemble’s illustrious teachers and coaches, the Guarneri Quartet. Tribute: Dover Quartet Plays Mozart recalls the Guarneri’s own all-Mozart debut album on RCA Red Seal 50 years ago (1966), which featured Mozart’s final two string quartets — in B-Flat, K. 589, and F, K. 590. The Dover’s album on Cedille adds Mozart’s Quintet in C Minor, K. 406, performed with none other than Michael Tree, the Guarneri’s founding violist and one of the Dover’s most valued mentors.
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.