Shanghai Quartet at Peak Performances

Montclair State University Quartet-in-Residence since 2002

Photo by Stephen Taylor

Shanghai Quartet

February 8, 2020 • 8:00pm Alexander Kasser Theater

Dr. Susan A. Cole, President Daniel Gurskis, Dean, College of the Arts Jedediah Wheeler, Executive Director, Arts + Cultural Programming

Montclair State University Quartet-in-Residence since 2002

Shanghai Quartet Weigang Li, violin Yi-Wen Jiang, violin Honggang Li, viola Nicholas Tzavaras, cello

Program String Quartet in D Major, op. 20 no. 4 I. Allegro di molto II. Un poco adagio affettuoso III. Menuetto: Allegretto alla zingarese IV. Presto scherzando

Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)

Entr’acte

Caroline Shaw (b.1982)

~~Intermission~~ String Quartet no. 7 in F Major, op. 59 no. 1 I. Allegro II. Allegretto vivace e sempre scherzando III. Adagio molto e mesto IV. “Thème Russe” Allegro

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)

Duration: 1 hour 32 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.

In consideration of both audiences and performers, please turn off all electronic devices. The taking of photographs or videos and the use of recording equipment are not permitted. No food or drink is permitted in the theater.

About the Artists Thirty-six years after the Shanghai Quartet’s formation, the ensemble continues to promote chamber music to audiences around the world. Renowned for its passionate musicality, impressive technique, and multicultural innovations, the Shanghai Quartet was the first chamber group to establish an international career after the opening up of China. The group’s elegant style melds the delicacy of Eastern music with the emotional breadth of Western repertoire, allowing it to traverse musical genres including traditional Chinese folk music, masterpieces of Western music, and cutting-edge contemporary works.

Formed at the Shanghai Conservatory in 1983, the Quartet has worked with the world’s most distinguished artists and regularly tours the major music centers of Europe, North America, and Asia. The Quartet has appeared at Carnegie Hall in chamber performances and with orchestra.

Among innumerable collaborations with noted artists, they have performed with the Tokyo, Juilliard, and Guarneri Quartets; cellists Yo-Yo Ma and Lynn Harrell; pianists Menahem Pressler, Peter Serkin, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and Yuja Wang; pipa virtuoso Wu Man; and the vocal ensemble Chanticleer. The Quartet has a long history of championing new music and juxtaposing traditions of Eastern and Western music. With more than 30 commissioned works, their recent premieres include works by William Bolcom, Zhao Lin, Chen Yi, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Tan Dun. A diverse and interesting array of media projects ranges from a cameo appearance playing Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4 in Woody Allen’s film Melinda and Melinda to PBS television’s Great Performances series. Violinist Weigang Li appeared in the documentary From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China, and the family of cellist Nicholas Tzavaras was the subject of the film Music of the Heart, starring Meryl Streep. The Shanghai Quartet is the subject of a documentary film, Behind the Strings, currently in production. The Quartet was the cover story of The Strad’s May 2019 issue.

The Shanghai Quartet performs on four exceptional instruments by Stradivari, Guarneri, Goffriller, and Guadagnini, generously loaned through the Beare’s International Violin Society to honor the quartet’s 35th anniversary. Using these instruments, the quartet is currently performing eight cycles of the complete Beethoven String Quartets throughout the world. The Shanghai Quartet currently serves as Quartet-in-Residence at the John J. Cali School of Music, Montclair State University in New Jersey; Ensemble-in-Residence with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra; and visiting guest professors of the Shanghai Conservatory and the Central Conservatory in Beijing.

They are proudly sponsored by Thomastik-Infeld Strings and BAM Cases.

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Available in the lobby or on-line.

In a time when traditional arts journalism seems evermore embattled and diminished, it is crucial to have thoughtful, nuanced writing about the arts, and to acknowledge that criticism itself is a literary art form. Who is writing about the art, and how they are allowed to write about that art, is just as important as who is making it. Claudia La Rocco, Editor

Further program content, including artist bios, may be found at peakperfs.org/programs.

Staff Office of Arts + Cultural Programming

College of the Arts

Jedediah Wheeler, Executive Director Stephanie Haggerstone, Managing Director Jill Dombrowski, Producing Director J. Ryan Graves, Director of Production Chrissy D’Aleo Fels, Cultural Engagement Director Camille Spaccavento, Marketing & Media Director Robert Hermida, Audience Services Director Regina Vorria, Associate Producer Andy Dickerson, Production Coordinator Colin Van Horn, Technical Director Andrew R. Wilsey, Master Stage Electrician Jeff Lambert Wingfield, Box Office Manager Laurel Brolly, Business Administrator Patrick Flood/Flood Design, Art Director Blake Zidell Associates, Media Representatives Natalie Marx, Media Creator Martin Halo, Webmaster Susan R. Case, Copy Editor Bart Solenthaler, Program Layout Design Maureen Grimaldi, House Manager Vici Chirumbolo, Nick Hawrylko, Kevin Johnson, Nick Kanderis, Daniel Mackle, Production Run Crew Maya Siguenza, Student Assistant

Daniel Gurskis, Dean Ronald L. Sharps, Associate Dean Linda D. Davidson, Assistant Dean Marie Sparks, Director of Administration Zacrah S. Battle, College Administrator Abby Lillethun, Art and Design Thomas McCauley, John J. Cali School of Music Keith Strudler, School of Communication and Media Randy Mugleston, Theatre and Dance Patricia Piroh, Broadcast and Media Operations Elizabeth McPherson, PhD, Director of Dance

The Office of Arts + Cultural Programming (ACP) enhances the cultural, creative, and academic life of the Montclair State campus and the broader community. Its signature program, PEAK Performances, features innovative works by international contemporary artists of exceptional merit, and by the next generation of great artists training at Montclair State University’s College of the Arts. Through its Cultural Engagement program, ACP offers master classes, workshops, lectures, and discussions designed to deepen participants’ understanding of the aesthetic, cultural, and social contexts of the performances presented.

ACP gratefully acknowledges our student staff and volunteers: Box Office Representatives Alexis Amore, Jose Baez, Crystal Bass, Jacob Batory, Imani Carney, I’meera Coston-Cox, Noelle Florio, Dale Harris, Tony Jordan, Shannon Mulraney, Vic Ortiz, Gabriella Presilla, Martin Pyda, Tamir Rios, Will Taylor, Tashae Udo, Lauren Winston Assistant House Managers William Collins, Jocelyn Hernandez Ushers Eleziel Castro, Andrew DeSisto, Patzy Gutierrez, Katherine Hall-Lapinski, Azariah Johnson, Ivy Meyer, Joseph Respicio, Christie Rosales, Steven Ruiz, Madalyn Rupprecht, Nia Soanes, Danielle Sossi, Belah Watson

Next Up Grand Band February 14 | 15

Programs in this season are made possible in part by funds from: The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts Discover Jersey Arts New England Foundation for the Arts–National Dance Project PEAK Performances is in partnership with WNET’s All Arts.

PEAK Patrons: Mary Brislin; Susan Campbell; Yong Chang; Joanna Conrad; Bob Fisher/Monroe Denton; Julie Harris; Paul Horowitz; Eric Levin; Karen Lundry; Michael Peroff; Gerard Piserchia, Jr.; Martin Wechsler To view our complete season and for more information, visit peakperfs.org. @peakperfs

@peakperfs