The Shanghai Quartet was founded in 1983 at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and this year marks their 40th anniversary. The Shanghai Quartet represents the beginning of Chinese chamber music's entry onto the international stage, and is also one of the most influential chamber music ensembles in China, as well as one of the few Asian chamber music ensembles that are active on top international stages.
The Shanghai Quartet made their debut in 1985 when four young musicians, carrying hundreds and thousands of times of practice, traveled to the UK to participate in the important Portsmouth International String Quartet Competition. Unexpectedly, they won second place, which made their teacher, Professor Ding Zhino, very happy. This was the first time a Chinese chamber music ensemble had won such an important award on the international stage. Driven by curiosity about the unknown and an endless love for music, the four young musicians made a name for themselves in the music world.
In March 1985, the founding members of the Shanghai Quartet returned to Beijing Capital Airport after winning a prize in the UK competition. From left to right: cellist Ma Xinhu, first violinist Li Weigang, Professor Ding Zhino, violist Wang Zheng, and second violinist Li Honggang.
Over the past 40 years, their footprints have been all over the world's top music halls, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Frick Gallery in Washington, Tokyo Suntory Hall, Wigmore Hall in London, Paris Philharmonic Hall, Warsaw Palace, and Budapest Festival Hall.
On the stage of the music festival, they will bring classic music works together with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra: Stravinsky's "Pulcinella" suite marks the composer's evolution in music style after completing three outstanding ballets in succession, and also marks the formal beginning of Stravinsky's neoclassical period. Regarding the second work of this concert - Beethoven's "Große Fuge", Stravinsky, a pioneer of 20th-century music, once commented that it "will always be contemporary music". Although this extremely complex single-movement string quartet work has often left listeners at a loss for the past two hundred years, it also emits a fatal attraction because of this. At the end of the concert, John Adams' "Absolute Jest" leads the audience back to the 21st century. This is a concerto for string quartet composed by the composer, who uses music materials from several late Beethoven string quartets, including "Great Fugue". Humor and metaphor are ubiquitous. Interestingly, Adams was inspired to create this work while listening to Stravinsky's "Pulcinella", making the entire concert a wonderful cycle.
Providing a platform for young artists to showcase and exchange, and allowing the audience to constantly see talented new faces, has been the mission of the Beijing Music Festival Program for many years. This concert is conducted by young conductor Sun Yifan, and the collaboration between veteran orchestras and new conductors is very groundbreaking. From the young conductor, it seems that we can also see the youthful era of the members of the Shanghai Quartet, and the imprint of their 40-year commitment to forming a group and constantly honing their skills. It also shows us the magical power of art to connect and communicate, which can break the differences of time and space, and allow people of different ages, nationalities, and races to come together and spend a wonderful time with music.
The concert combination of the new generation of young conductors, China's most influential chamber music group, and China's oldest symphony orchestra, Sun Yifan, the Shanghai Quartet, and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, highlights the inheritance and change of classical music culture, and also highlights the support and attention of the Beijing Music Festival Program to young forces.
This support and attention have received widespread resonance from young people. A music fan who has been studying music and painting since elementary school, as a young audience, specially made a poster for this concert, starting from the content of the concert program, to help the audience better understand this concert. "On this poster, an elephant with a long and loud trumpet, the 'Shanghai Quartet' slid down from its trunk and stopped to perform... The program performed by the Shanghai Quartet and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in this music festival. The composer used several classic melodies from Beethoven's late works as the motive material, and created and arranged them in his own way, using a string quartet and a huge symphony orchestra to perform a complex interpretation, jointly performing a carnival tribute to Beethoven. I think using animals in the circus is relevant, and elephants are the largest, most festive and lovable..."
Performance Information
Date: Monday, October 2, 2023, 19:30
Venue: Poly Theater
First Violin: Weigang Li
Second Violin: Angelo Yu Xiang
Viola: Honggang Li
Cello: Nicolas Tzavaras
Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Sun Yifan
