The Shanghai

Quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

is a

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

that formed in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

. The quartet is made up of: first violinist Weigang Li, second violinist

Angelo Xiang Yu Angelo is an Italian masculine given name and surname meaning "angel", or "messenger". People People with the given name *Angelo Accattino (born 1966), Italian prelate of the Catholic Church *Angelo Acciaioli (bishop) (1298–1357), Italian Ro ...

, violist

Honggang Li Honggang District () is a district of the city of Daqing, Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. Administrative divisions Honggang District is divided into 5 subdistricts and 1 township. ;5 subdistricts * Honggang (), Babaishang () ...

, and cellist

Nicholas Tzavaras Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its d ...

. On November 20, 2020 the ensemble announced the newest member, Angelo Xiang Yu. The Shanghai Quartet accepted the resignation of former second violinist Yi-Wen Jiang on March 17, 2020. The group's tours have included

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, South America,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, New Zealand, and Europe. Among their performances, the Shanghai Quartet has developed a long list of performance collaborators including Yo-Yo Ma, David Soyer, Eugenia Zukerman, Sharon Isbin, Ruth Laredo,

Arnold Steinhardt Arnold Steinhardt (born 1937 in Los Angeles, California) is an American violinist, best known as the first violinist of the Guarneri String Quartet. Steinhardt made his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 14. He studied ...

, and Chanticleer.

History

The group was formed in

at the Shanghai Conservatory in

."Shanghai Quartet makes Worcester Debut Feb. 6."
Telegram & Gazette orcester27 Jan. 1993: C4. ProQuest. Web. 4 Oct. 2009. In 1984 the quartet was selected by the Ministry of Culture (China)""We'd like to jump-start the China Chamber Music Scene."
Financial Times ondon24 Oct. 2003: 14. ProQuest. Web. 8 Oct. 2009. to compete at the Portsmouth International Quartet Competition in England where they won 2nd prize."Have Strings, Will Travel Founded in China and based in Virginia, the 11-year-old Shanghai Quartet tries to raise its recognition level in a crowded marketplace." Los Angeles Times 26 Feb. 1995: 4. ProQuest. Web. 4 Oct. 2009.
/ref> The group then left China in 1985 to study at Northern Illinois University with the Vermeer Quartet until

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

. The Shanghai Quartet made its

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

debut in 1987 at Town Hall."Fisk, quartet are splendid // Shanghai Quartet and guitarist are a beautiful blend." Telegram & Gazette [Worcester] 20 Nov. 1998: C3. ProQuest. Web. 4 Oct. 2009.
/ref> In 1989 they became the quartet-in-residence at the University of Richmond. In 2003 the quartet became Distinguished Visiting Artists of the school's Modlin Center for the Arts, giving concerts during the Great Performances season from September to May."Shanghai Quartet to Remain at the University of Richmond as Distinguished Visiting Artists"
They then were established as artists-in-residency at the

John J. Cali John J. Cali (August 8, 1918 – February 1, 2014) was an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and musician.Montclair State University in New Jersey where they are currently located. The four members are also visiting guest professors at the Shanghai Conservatory and Central Conservatory of Music in

where they share in master-classes what they have learned in America. In the fall of 2020, they became resident faculty members at The

Tianjin Juilliard School The Tianjin Juilliard School () is a branch of the Juilliard School located in Binhai, Tianjin, China. It is the first institution in China which offers a U.S.-accredited Master of Music degree. History In 2012, the Juilliard School signed an ...

. A documentary film by Hal Rifken, titled "Behind the Strings", was released in 2020, telling the adventuresome history of the musicians through their westward journeys out of the Cultural Revolution in China to their current lives on stage and at home in the US.

Members

Weigang Li

Weigang Li is a native of Shanghai and began studying the violin at age five under the instruction of his parents. He began formal music education at the Shanghai Conservatory when he was 14 years old. In 1981 he studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music through an exchange program with the Shanghai Conservatory. Upon finishing his studies in 1985, Weigang became an assistant violin professor at Shanghai. He then left China to study at Northern Illinois University. From 1987 to 1989, he studied at the Juilliard School and was a teaching assistant to the Juilliard String Quartet. Weigang has been the first violinist for the Shanghai Quartet since its inception. Weigang has been a soloist with the Asian Youth Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He appears in the film " From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China". Weigang currently is on the faculty at the

Bard College Conservatory of Music The Bard College Conservatory of Music is part of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Founded in 2005, the program is unique among music conservatories in the United States in that all undergraduate students are required to participa ...

, an Artist-in-Residence at Montclair State University's John J. Cali School Of Music, and resident faculty at The Tianjin Juilliard School.

Angelo Xiang Yu

Angelo Xiang Yu was born in Inner Mongolia China and grew up in Shanghai. His early musical training was with violinist Qing Zheng at the Shanghai Conservatory. His first major international award was First Prize in the 2010

Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition The Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists (or simply the Menuhin Competition) is an international music competition for violinists under the age of 22. It was founded by Yehudi Menuhin in 1983 with the goal of nurturing you ...

. He is the recipient of a 2019

Avery Fisher Career Grant {{third-party, date=November 2017 The Avery Fisher Career Grant, established by Avery Fisher, is an award given to up to five outstanding instrumentalists each year (since 2004, chamber music groups are also eligible). The Career Grants are a part o ...

and a 2019 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. Yu received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees and an Artist Diploma from the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

. His teachers include Donald Weilerstein and Miriam Fried. Mr. Yu was chosen to be a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s The Bowers Program, joining in the fall of 2018.

Honggang Li

Honggang Li began his musical studies playing the violin like his brother Weigang, and formed the quartet with him He first attended the Beijing Conservatory and then the Shanghai Conservatory where he became a faculty member in 1984. Later in the United States, he became a teaching assistant at the Juilliard School in New York City. Honggang was the original first violinist for the Shanghai Quartet and later switched to second violin. When violist Zheng Wang left the group they had trouble finding a replacement violist, and upon accepting Yi-Wen Jiang, who the Li brothers had already known, as the second violinist, Honggang learned to play the viola in order to complete the quartet."Music Reviews; Shanghai Quartet Blends Old, New for Unified Sound." Los Angeles Times 21 Nov. 1996: 10. ProQuest. Web. 4 Oct. 2009.
/ref> Honggang has been a soloist with the Shanghai Philharmonic and the Shanghai Conservatory Orchestra. In 1987 he was given a prize at the

Premio Paolo Borciani The International String Quartet Competition "Premio Paolo Borciani" was created in 1987 in Reggio Emilia, Italy, and is dedicated to their famous fellow citizen, founder and first violin of thQuartetto Italiano The promoter and organiser iFondazion ...

Competition in Italy by Elisa Pegreffi.

Nicholas Tzavaras

Nicholas Tzavaras is the only American member of the Shanghai Quartet, having grown up in Harlem in New York City. He studied cello at the

and at the

State University of New York Stony Brook Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system' ...

. As a graduate student, he began a cello program for the Opus 118 Music Center in

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

. He is now an advisory board member for the program. Nicholas was previously on the faculty at the University of Richmond and is currently the string department coordinator and cello professor at Montclair State University. He became the cellist for the Shanghai Quartet in 2000 when past cellist James Wilson left the ensemble. Nicholas has toured with "Musicians from Marlboro" and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

. He has made appearances on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...

, and at the White House to perform for President Bill Clinton. He has recorded for labels including Delos,

BIS Records BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden. BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recordings. ...

, Camerata, and New Albion. He has appeared in the Academy Award nominated documentary " Small Wonders" and in the major motion picture " Music of the Heart" with Meryl Streep.

Former members

Xing-Hua Ma, cellist 1983-1985. Zheng Wang, violist 1983-1994. Käthe Jarka, cellist 1986-1990. James Wilson, cellist 1990-2000. Yi-Wen Jiang, violinist 1994-2020.

Discography

References

External links

* http://www.shanghaiquartet.com/ {{Authority control Musical groups from Shanghai String quartets Musical groups established in 1983 Music of Richmond, Virginia University of Richmond Montclair State University 1983 establishments in China