SHANGHAI QUARTET

TREETOPS CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY

Greenwich-Stamford, Connecticut

Tel. 203-979-6051 / 6052

There is a new cultural organization in town!

Shanghai Quartet

2007-2008 Season performances at Treetops CMS

APRIL 26, 27
Sat at 6 pm & Sun at 4 pm

SHANGHAI QUARTET
Details

Shanghai Quartet

"The whole performance was superb," says The New York Times. Originally formed in Shanghai more than 20 years ago, this versatile ensemble is known for their passionate musicality, impressive technique, and multicultural innovations. The Quartet's elegant style of melding the delicacy of Eastern music with Western repertoire allows them to travel the genres, from traditional Chinese folk music to Brahms, Shubert, and new commissions by Lowell Lieberman and Bright Sheng, among others.

The Shanghai Quartet has performed on the world's most prominent concert stages, and regularly tours the great music centers of Europe, North and South America, and Asia. Recent seasons have included tours of Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. As part of their 20th Anniversary tour, the Quartet performed the "Beethoven Project: East Meets West;" the complete Beethoven string quartets in six concerts around the world. This tour included the first performance ever in China of the complete Beethoven quartet cycle.

The Shanghai Quartet has a long history of championing new music. Projects include a commission with Chamber Music America, and a premiere of Lowell Lieberman's Quartet in honor of the National Federation of Music Clubs' 100th Anniversary. Among others, they commissioned a new work from Bright Sheng for the University of Richmond and the Freer Gallery to celebrate their 10th Anniversary.

This season the Quartet will appear at Carnegie Hall, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, among many other prestigious engagements on three continents. The Quartet's repertoire will span Eastern and Western sounds, and will range from contemporary works by Ligeti, Bright Sheng, and Zhou Long ("Poems from Tang") to traditional works by Schubert, Brahms, and Mozart. They will perform the complete Beethoven cycle at the new Kassar Theater at Montclair State University in New Jersey, and premiere a commission by the young American Composer, Takuma Itoh, with the New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall.

Recording for several labels, the Quartet has built an extensive discography that now totals 20 recordings. Recently, the Quartet released two discs: Mendelssohn Octet (Camerata), and Zhou Long's "Poems from Tang" Quartet and Orchestra (BIS). In 2003, The Quartet released its most popular disc to date: A 24-track collection of Chinese folk songs, titled ChinaSong, featuring music arranged by Yi-Wen Jiang reflecting childhood memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Their current project includes the recording of the complete Beethoven string quartets to be released during their 25th Anniversary season. The Shanghai Quartet performed the Bartok Quartet No. 4 on screen and for the soundtrack recording in the Woody Allen film, Melinda and Melinda, which was released in the spring of 2005.

The Quartet has a distinguished teaching record. They serve as the Quartet-in-Residence at Montclair State University in New Jersey. They also serve as visiting professors at the Shanghai Conservatory and the Central Conservatory in China. The Quartet has made regular appearances at Carnegie Hall, and also served as ensemble-in-residence at the Tanglewood and Ravinia Festivals. They have made appearances at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival and on PBS's Great Performers television series. The Quartet also appears regularly on National Public Radio.

More information at www.shanghaiquartet.com

Weigang Li, Violin

A native of Shanghai, Weigang Li has been a featured soloist with the Asian Youth Orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony. Mr. Li began studying the violin with his parents at the age of five and went on to attend the Shanghai Conservatory at age 14. He then came to the United States in 1981 to study at the San Francisco Conservatory through an exchange program between the sister cities of San Francisco and Shanghai. Upon graduating from the Shanghai Conservatory in 1985, Mr. Li was appointed assistant professor of violin at the school. Shortly thereafter he left China to continue his education at the Northern Illinois University. From 1987-1989, Mr. Li studied and taught at the Juilliard School as teaching assistant to the Juilliard Quartet. His other teachers have included Shmuel Ashkenasi, Pierre Menard, Shu-Chen Tan, and Isadore Tinkleman. Mr. Li was featured in the film "From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China."

Yi-Wen Jiang, Violin

Born in Beijing, Yi-Wen Jiang has appeared as a soloist with the Victoria Symphony and the Montreal Symphony. He has also performed for NBC and PBS television specials, National Public Radio, CPB in Beijing, WQXR in New York, and KFUO in St. Louis.

Beginning his violin studies with his father at age six, he made his concerto debut with the Central Opera House Orchestra in Beijing when he was 17. In 1981, after winning a top prize at the First China Youth Violin Competition, he was accepted into the class of Professor Han Li at the Central Conservatory of Music. In 1985 he came to the United States on a full scholarship to the St. Louis Conservatory, where his teachers included Taras Gabora, Jaime Laredo, and Michael Tree. He also spent two summers in Dallas participating in master classes with Pinchas Zukerman. In 1990, with the support of the Ken Boxley Foundation, he went to Rutgers University to work with Arnold Steinhardt of the Guarneri Quartet.

A prizewinner at the Mae M. Whitaker and Montreal competitions, Mr. Jiang has appeared at many international music festivals, collaborating with such prominent artists as Alexander Schneider, Michael Tree, Jaime Laredo, and Lynn Harrell. He has recorded for the Record Corporation of China.

Honggang Li, Viola

Honggang Li began his musical training studying the violin with his parents at the same time as his brother, Weigang. When the Beijing Conservatory reopened in 1977 after the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Li was selected to attend from a group of over five hundred applicants. He continued his training at the Shanghai Conservatory and was appointed a faculty member there in 1984. Mr. Li has also served as a teaching assistant at the Juilliard School and has appeared as soloist with the Shanghai Philharmonic and the Shanghai Conservatory Orchestra. In 1987 he won a violin as a special prize given by Elisa Pegreffi of Quartetto Italiano at the Paolo Borciani competition in Italy.

Nicholas Tzavaras, Cello

Cellist Nicholas Tzavaras has been an active soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States. He has made solo appearances with the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra, the National Repertory Orchestra, the SUNY Stonybrook Symphony, and the East Iowa Symphony, as well as at Fiddlefest at Carnegie Hall and at the Tonhalle in Zurich. Mr. Tzavaras has previously appeared at the Isaac Stern International Chamber Music Encounters in Jerusalem, and also at the Marlboro, Tanglewood, Taos, Sarasota, and Musicorda music festivals. Mr. Tzavaras holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory, and a Master of Music degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and has studied with Laurence Lesser and Timothy Eddy. In addition to his performing schedule, he is active in music outreach and education. Mr. Tzavaras has taught at many different music schools including the Opus 118 Music Center in East Harlem, where his mother, Roberta Guaspari, is the Artistic Director. Mr. Tzavaras' family was portrayed in the movie "Music of the Heart" starring Meryl Streep.