For the Record, Op. 131: Dover Quartet's Beethoven; Patricia Kopatchinskaja 'What's Next Vivaldi?'

By Laurie Niles: Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening!Beethoven Complete String Quartets, Vol. 1 — The Opus 18 QuartetsDover Quartet Joel Link, violin Bryan Lee, violin Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola Camden Shaw, cello

The Dover Quartet, which holds residencies at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, launches its emerging, three-volume complete Beethoven quartet cycle with the six Opus 18 quartets, often cited as the epitome of the classical string quartet as developed by Haydn and Mozart while foreshadowing Beethoven’s future innovations. The timing of the album’s release is a nod to the worldwide celebration of the 250th anniversary of the German composer’s birth. BELOW: The Dover Quartet performs Beethoven String Quartet Op. 18 No. 4, Mvt. 1 in 2017:

What's Next Vivaldi?Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violinIl Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini conducting

Two of the most progressive and exciting (and controversial) musical minds come together for the first time on record: violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and conductor Giovanni Antonini. "What’s Next Vivaldi?" aims to set Vivaldi in a contemporary musical context, with violin concerti by Vivaldi juxtaposed with short pieces by five living Italian composers - mostly commissioned by Kopatchinskaja. "This recording invites Vivaldi into a time laboratory, engages him in a dialogue with today’s creative voices from Italy, telling him, as if to a time traveller, what today’s horizons are," Kopatchinskaja said. BELOW: Excerpts from and interviews about the album:

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• For the Record, Op. 130: Baiba Skride Mozart Concertos
• For the Record, Op. 128: Nicola Benedetti; Jonah Kim; and Mike Block
• For the Record, Op. 126: Ray Chen's 'Solace' Solo Bach; David Park Plays Fritz Kreisler