Shanghai String Quartet
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
8:00 pm
Purchase tickets online
Hailed by The Strad as “a foursome of uncommon refinement and musical distinction,” the Shanghai String Quartet is renowned for its passionate musicality, impressive technique, and multicultural innovations. The group has become one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles; its elegant style melds the delicacy of Eastern music with the emotional breadth of Western repertoire, allowing it to traverse musical genres from traditional Chinese folk music and masterpieces of Western music to cutting-edge contemporary works.
The Shanghai Quartet was formed at the Shanghai conservatory in 1983 and since then has worked with the world’s most distinguished artists. The group regularly tours the major music centers of Europe, North America, and Asia. Recent performances have ranged from the International Music Festivals of Seoul and Beijing to the Festival Pablo Casals in France, Beethoven Festival in Poland, Yerevan Festival in Armenia, and Cartagena International Music Festival in Colombia. They have been regular performers at many of the leading chamber music festivals in North America, including the Santa Fe and Ottawa Festivals.
The quartet has a long history of championing new music and juxtaposing Eastern and Western sounds. This blending of Eastern and Western music will be the focus of their program at the Clark. The Mozart “Hunt” Quartet in B-Flat Major and Smetana “From My Life” Quartet will be the featured Western works. For their Chinese component, they will perform selections from ChinaSong, the quartet’s most popular CD, issued in 2003. ChinaSong is a collection of Chinese folk songs arranged for string quartet by Yi-Wen Jiang, second violinist of the quartet. The songs reflect on his childhood memories of the Cultural Revolution in China.
The galleries and museum shop will be open until 6:00 pm.
Tickets are $25 ($20 members and students). Purchase tickets online or by calling 413 458 0524.
