Shanghai Quartet Brings Beethovan and New Music to the Berrie Center at Ramapo College
(Mahwah) – The Shanghai Quartet, hailed by The Strad as a “foursome of uncommon refinement and musical distinction,” will perform a program of works by Beethoven as well as original compositions at Ramapo College of New Jersey Saturday, September 13 at 8 p.m. in the Sharp Theater.
Originally formed at Shanghai Conservatory in 1983, this versatile ensemble is known for passionate musicality, astounding technique and multicultural innovations. The Quartet’s elegant style of melding the delicacy of Eastern music with Western repertoire allows them to travel the world, both onstage and in the recording studio. Members of the Quartet include Weigang Li, violinist; Yi-Wen Jiang, violinist; Honggang Li, violinist; and Nicholas Tzavaras, cellist.
The Quartet is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2003 and has just released two CDs, Silent Temple (Bis label), featuring music by Bright Sheng, and ChinaSong (Delos International), a 24-track collection of Chinese folk songs featuring music arranged by Quartet-member Yi-Wen Jiang. ChinaSong is a departure from the Quartet’s classical side, but is a demonstration of their inventive musicality and ability to bring Eastern sounds to Western audiences. The Bright Sheng-Silent Temple disc, presents a program of chamber music by the composer, with a string quartet, piano trio and an unconventional duo made up of the traditional Chinese “pipa” (a type of lute) accompanied by the cello. Memories of Chinese and Tibetan melodies and sonorities are used throughout the recording. As part of their 2003 20th anniversary year, the Shanghai Quartet has planned a groundbreaking tour through China, performing the entire Beethoven cycle. This has never before been attempted in Chinese history.
The Shanghai Quartet has worked with such distinguished artists as cellists Yo-Yo Ma and David Soyer; flutist Eugenia Zukerman; guitarists Eliot Fisk and Sharon Isbin; pianists Gerhard Oppitz, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Manahem Pressler, Ruth Laredo and Joseph Kalichstein; and violinist Arnold Steinhardt. Regularly touring the major music centers of Europe and North America, the Shanghai Quartet has performed among other locations, in London, Hamburg, Milan and Amsterdam, as well as in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Portland, Princeton, St. Paul, Toronto and Washington, D.C., where they appear frequently at the Freer Gallery. In addition, they often tour major Asian cities in China, Japan and Korea.
Tickets for the Shanghai Quartet concert are $21 for adults, $18 for seniors and $12 for students. The Sharp Theater is located in the Angelica and Russ Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts.
return to top
