Dover Quartet
Michelle Cann, piano
The Mity Clark Gann Concert | The David & Barbara Kornblatt Commissioning Fund
Location: Shriver Hall
The Grammy-nominated Dover Quartet returns to Shriver Hall, joined by formidable pianist Michelle Cann, who brings her “enormous, rich sound” and “joyous, lit-from-within energy” (La Scena Musicale) to this intimate setting. Together they present one of the pinnacles of the chamber music repertoire: Dvořák’s colorful, folk-inflected quintet. Expansive sounds from American composers open the program.
The Dover Quartet is "excellent and fast-rising." —New York Times
Cann is "a pianist of sterling artistry." —Gramophone
About the sponsor
Florence Clarke Gann (1909-1995) was known as “Mity” because she was as small as a “mite.” The moniker never fit. She had irrepressible energy and an extraordinary love for life. She had a quest for knowledge and enjoyed lively intellectual debate. She loved music, art, good books, and, at age 85, she was still working on her tennis game. Mity’s love for music and her piano were important aspects of her life. She played chamber music and was still playing a few weeks before her death. She used to say, “Music is one of the things that always makes me feel good.” Mity’s legacy is surely one of love for life and for all the beautiful and interesting things in it. She is remembered by this gift of a concert in her memory made in 1996 by her family and friends.
Barbara and the late David Kornblatt always had a passion for contemporary art and the creative process. From 1975 to 1992, Barbara owned an art gallery that specialized in contemporary American painting, sculpture and works on paper, and she helped numerous artists create and sustain lasting careers. Over 50 years ago, David and a partner founded what would become the Kornblatt Company—a real estate development, brokerage, and management firm culminating in the building and management of Saint Paul Plaza. Passionate concertgoers, Barbara joined SHCS’s Board of Directors in 1998. Her and David's generous contribution establishing this fund in 2014 enabling SHCS to regularly commission and premiere new works. This gift was made in honor of their parents Harry & Rebecca Kornblatt and Isidore & Sarah Rodbell.
Dover Quartet
Joel Link, violin
Bryan Lee, violin
Julianne Lee, viola
Camden Shaw, cello
Named one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years by BBC Music Magazine, the two-time GRAMMY-nominated Dover Quartet is one of the world’s most in-demand chamber ensembles. The Dover Quartet is the Penelope P. Watkins Ensemble in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music and holds additional residencies at Northwestern University and the Artosphere festival. The group’s awards include a stunning 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 honors include the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Chamber Music America’s Cleveland Quartet Award, and Lincoln Center’s Hunt Family Award.
The Dover Quartet’s 2023-24 season includes a North American tour with Leif Ove Andsnes, performances with Haochen Zhang and David Shifrin, and a tour to Europe and Israel. Recent collaborators include Emanuel Ax, Inon Barnaton, Ray Chen, the Escher String Quartet, Bridget Kibbey, Anthony McGill, Edgar Meyer, the Pavel Haas Quartet, Roomful of Teeth, and Davóne Tines. The quartet recently premiered Steven Mackey’s theatrical-musical work Memoir, and works by Mason Bates, Marc Neikrug, and Chris Rogerson.
The Dover Quartet’s GRAMMY-nominated recordings include its highly acclaimed three-volume recording, Beethoven Complete String Quartets (Cedille Records), which was hailed as “meticulously balanced, technically clean-as-a-whistle and intonationally immaculate” (The Strad), and The Schumann Quartets (Azica Records).
The Dover Quartet was formed at Curtis in 2008; its name pays tribute to Dover Beach by fellow Curtis alumnus Samuel Barber. The Dover Quartet proudly endorses Thomastik-Infeld strings.
"Expert musicianship, razor-sharp ensemble, deep musical feeling and a palpable commitment to communication." -Chicago Tribune
Michelle Cann
Lauded as “exquisite” by The Philadelphia Inquirer and “a pianist of sterling artistry” by Gramophone, Michelle Cann has become one of the most sought-after pianists of her generation. She made her debut in 2021 with The Philadelphia Orchestra and has recently performed concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfônica Municipal de São Paulo, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Baltimore, and Cincinnati. Highlights of Cann’s 2023-24 season include appearances with the Charlotte, Hawaii, Indianapolis, Québec, Sarasota, and Winnipeg symphony orchestras, and recitals in New York City, Portland, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, and Denver.
Recognized as a leading interpreter of the piano music of Florence Price, Cann performed the New York City premiere of Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement with The Dream Unfinished Orchestra in July 2016. Her recording of the concerto with the New York Youth Symphony won a Grammy Award in 2023. Her acclaimed debut solo album Revival, featuring music by Price and Margaret Bonds, was released in May 2023.
Cann was the recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and an Artist’s Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music. Cann joined the Curtis piano faculty in 2020 as the inaugural Eleanor Sokoloff Chair in Piano Studies, and she joined the piano faculty of the Manhattan School of Music in 2023.
Follow Michelle Cann on Instagram: @michelleacann
"Cann takes no prisoners at the keyboard." -Buffalo Rising
