Saturday, January 21, 2012, 8 pm at Jordan Hall

Presenting

The Shanghai Quartet
Weigang Li, violin 第一小提琴 李偉剛
Yi-Wen Jiang, violin 第二小提琴 蔣逸文
Honggang Li, viola 中提琴 李宏剛
Nicholas Tzavaras, cello  
with pianist Hung Kuan Chen

 


  

 




photo credit: Chin-wen Lee of World Journal, unless otherwise noted.




"The whole performance was superb…providing glowing solos and the slow movement rising to poetic heights." -The New York Times

"They punctuated sections with such captivating pauses that one dared not breathe until the music resumed. With balanced amounts of wit and drama, the quartet allowed [Haydn’s] compositional genius to emerge…" -The Washington Post

"The Shanghai has a warm, wonderfully full-bodied sound, and the particular musical personality of each of the players is allowed to be heard." -The Denver Post

"The Shanghai cohesively blends the music’s pulsing rhythms and thrusting figurations with intelligence and grace." -The New York Times

"On just about every technical count – intonation, phrasing, instrumental balance, choice of tempo – the Shanghai’s Beethoven was spot-on." -Richmond Times

"Molding smooth, supple edges … these musicians approached each style of music with reserve and discipline, bringing forth a remarkable rhythmic precision and shimmering intonation." -New York Newsday

"They have a genuine flair for the language of Mozart, but with a personal accent – articulate, elegant and … generous in vibrato and portamento …" -The Los Angeles Times

"The Shanghai articulated each episode precisely, giving structural definition to its delicate microtonal intervals, swirling glissandos and searing harmonics ascending into the stratosphere." -The Washington Post


THE SHANGHAI QUARTET
Weigang Li, violin
Yi-Wen Jiang, violin
Honggang Li, viola
Nicholas Tzavaras, cello

“The whole performance was superb.”
- The New York Times


The Shanghai Quartet is renowned for its passionate musicality, impressive technique and multicultural innovations. Its elegant style of melding the delicacy of Eastern music with the emotional breadth of Western repertoire allows it to traverse musical genres, from traditional Chinese folk music and masterpieces of Western music, to cutting edge contemporary works. The Quartet celebrated its 25th anniversary in the 2008-09 season with world premieres from the three continents that comprise its artistic and cultural worlds: Krzysztof Penderecki’s String Quartet No. 3, Chen Yi’s From the Path of Beauty and jazz pianist Dick Hyman’s String Quartet.

Formed at the Shanghai Conservatory in 1983, the Shanghai Quartet has worked with the world’s most distinguished artists and regularly tours the major music centers of Europe, North America and Asia. Recent seasons have included concert tours of Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. The Quartet has made regular appearances at Carnegie Hall in chamber performances and with orchestra, and in 2006 gave the world premiere of Takuma Itoh’s Concerto for Quartet and Orchestra in Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium.

Performances at many of the most distinguished festivals and concert halls highlight the Shanghai Quartet’s 25th anniversary season, including appearances at the Ravinia, Tanglewood and Ottawa International Festivals and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as residencies at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and the Oregon Bach Festival. November 2009 brought the world premiere of Penderecki’s String Quartet No. 3 at a special concert in Poland honoring the composer’s 75th birthday with the US Premieres at Montclair State University and the University of Richmond. Continuing its anniversary collaboration with Chanticleer, the Quartet will present the Asian premiere of Chen Yi’s From the Path of Beauty in China in May 2009.

The Quartet has a long history of championing new music and juxtaposing Eastern and Western sounds. Among its major commissions and premieres are works by Lowell Lieberman, Bright Sheng and Zhou Long.

The Quartet has built an extensive discography that now totals over 25 recordings on multiple labels. Recent releases include the Mendelssohn Octet (Camerata)and Zhou Long’s "Poems from Tang” for Quartet and Orchestra with the Singapore Symphony (BIS). In 2003, the Quartet released its most popular disc: a 24-track collection of Chinese folk songs titled Chinasong (Delos)featuring music arranged by Yi-Wen Jiang reflecting his childhood memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Current recording projects include the complete Beethoven string quartets (Camerata), a seven-disc project.

The Shanghai Quartet has appeared in a diverse and interesting array of media projects, ranging from a cameo appearance in the Woody Allen film "Melinda and Melinda” playing Bartok’s String Quartet No. 4 (and the film’s soundtrack recording)to PBS’s Great Performances series for television. Other film credits include an appearance by violinist Weigang Li in the documentary "From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China,” and the family of cellist Nicholas Tzavaras as the subject of the 1999 film "Music of the Heart” starring Meryl Streep.

The Shanghai Quartet has a distinguished teaching record, and currently serves as Ensemble-in-Residence at Montclair State University in New Jersey and the esteemed title of visiting guest professors of the Shanghai Conservatory and the Central Conservatory in China.


Hung-Kuan Chen 陳宏寬,  Pianist

“This man plays music with uncommon understanding and the instrument with uncommon imagination…” -- Richard Dyer, Boston Globe

“…rarely have I heard such eloquence and musical understanding. Is anyone listening?” -- Ruth Laredo


Hung-Kuan Chen is one of the great personalities of the music world: enigmatic, brilliant and versatile. He is a pianist of uncompromising individuality and a remarkably inspiring pedagogue. Born in Taipei and raised in Germany, Mr. Chen’s early studies fostered strong roots in Germanic Classicism which he tempered with the sensibility of Chinese philosophy: The result is a dynamic and imaginative artistry. Furthermore, he is regarded as an extraordinary interpreter of Beethoven’s music.

One of the most decorated pianists of his generation, Mr. Chen won top prizes in the Arthur Rubinstein, the Busoni and the Geza Anda International Piano Competitions, along with prizes in the Queen Elisabeth, Montreal, Van Cliburn, and Chopin International Competition; also the recipient of the Avery Fisher Career grant and a Young Concert Artists winner. He has appeared in the music capitals of Asia, Europe and the Americas and collaborated with many major orchestras including Houston, Baltimore, Israel, Montréal, Pittsburgh, the Tonhalle, San Francisco and Shanghai. Mr. Chen has performed with highly esteemed conductors; Hans Graf, Christoph Eschenbach, George Cleve, Josef Silverstein, Andrew Parrett and Sui Lan; and colleagues including Yo-Yo Ma, Chao-Liang Lin, Roman Totenberg, Denes Zsigmondy, Bion Tsang, Anthony Gigliotti, David Shifrin, and Laurence Lesser and pianists Tema Blackstone and Pi-hsien Chen.

Mr. Chen is Chair of the Piano Department of the Shanghai Conservatory and is the Director of the International Piano Academy in Shanghai. Prior to this he joined the faculty of Boston University, New England Conservatory Preparatory and was a Distinguished Artist in Residence at Mount Royal Conservatory in Canada. Mr. Chen has adjudicated International Piano Competitions and has taught and performed in the annual music festival for the Foundation of Chinese Performing Arts in Boston since 1993.

In 1992 Hung-Kuan Chen suffered an injury to his hand which caused neurological damage and eventually resulted in Focal Dystonia. Through Qi Gong meditation and his own unique research he was able to heal and return to his life as a concert artist. His first post-accident solo recital in March of 1998 received rave reviews and he was described as a transformed artist: "Back in the ‘80’s Apollo and Dionysus, Florestan and Eusebius were in Chen’s pianistic personality. He could play with poetic insight, he could also erupt into an almost terrifying over drive. Now there is repose and the forces have been brought into complimentary harmony.” (Boston Globe)
In recital this season, Mr. Chen is playing in San Francisco, Boston, New York (Carnegie Hall Isaac Stern Auditorium), and in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and other major cities worldwide.

Hung-Kuan Chen is represented by Blackstone Artists Management.

(新聞稿) Jan. 2012

中華表演藝術基金會將於2012年一月二十一日晚上八點, 請到深受樂評界及各大報紙肯定與讚賞的上海四重奏及名鋼琴家陳宏寬聯合在 紐英崙音樂學院喬登聽(Jordan Hall)舉辦一場精彩的音樂會。 當晚曲目有: 貝多芬的F大調弦樂四重奏, 作品第18- 1號, 波蘭作曲家潘德列斯基(Penderecki)的第三號弦樂四重奏: "未寫下的日記中夾的樹葉”(Leaves from an Unwritten Diary,2008), 以及布拉姆斯: F小調鋼琴五重奏, 作品第34號。

上海四重奏1983年在上海音樂學院成立, 以演奏技術、音樂激情、創新多元而聞名。 已成為世界上最重要的室內樂團之一。 他们風 格典雅, 融合東方的細膩微妙, 和西方的戲劇寬廣, 使他们能夠自由的穿梭在中國傳統的民間音樂和當代西方的傑作音樂作品之間。 紐約時報 (The New York Times)評寫上海四重奏: ”一流的整體表現” 。 上海四重奏深受樂評及各大報紙肯定 與讚賞。 他们曾與世界上最傑出的藝術家合作, 也定期在歐洲, 北美和亞洲的主要音樂中心演出。 目前在新澤西州蒙特克萊爾州立大 學擔任駐校弦樂四重奏, 是上海交響樂團的駐場樂團, 也是上海音樂學院和北京中央音樂學院的客座教授。

上海四重奏的成員包括: 第一小提琴李偉剛、第二小提琴蔣逸文、中提琴李宏剛、大提琴尼古拉斯.薩瓦拉斯 (Nicholas Tzavaras)。

第一小提琴李偉剛: 生長於上海 , 5歲開始在父母的指導下學習小提琴。 14歲時進入上海音樂學院。 後入舊金山音樂學院, 北 伊利諾伊大學, 及紐約茱莉亞音樂學院就讀, 是茱莉亞四重奏的助教之一。 自上海四重奏成立以來, 李偉剛一直身任第一小提琴手。 李偉剛也是亞洲青年管弦樂團 ,  上海交響樂團 ,  BBC交響樂團,  BBC蘇格蘭交響樂團 的獨奏小提琴手。 他參與演出電影“ 從毛澤東到莫扎特: 艾薩克斯特恩在中國 " (“From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China”)。

第二小提琴蔣逸文: 生於北京, 6歲時與他的父親學習小提琴。 17歲時已經在北京中央歌劇院首演協奏曲。 榮獲1981首屆中國 青年小提琴比賽一等獎, 進入北京中央音樂學院。 他曾到達拉斯參加祖克曼(Pinchas Zuckerman)的大師班。 1990年, 他在瓜奈裡四重奏(Guarneri Quartet)為斯坦哈特(Arnold Steinhardt)工作。 1994年加入上 海四重奏身任第二小提琴手。 蔣逸文也是維多利亞交響樂團和蒙特利爾交響樂團的小提琴獨奏家。 他曾出現在NBC和PBS電視特別節 目。 及北京的CPB,  紐約的WQXR, 和聖路易斯的KFUO 節目出現。 在惠特克(Mae M. Whitaker)和 蒙特利爾比賽 (Montreal)獲獎。 曾與亞歷山大謝德(Alexander Scheider),  和琳哈勒爾(Lynn Harrell )合作演出。 蔣逸文曾為中國紅色標籤公司錄音。

中提琴李宏剛: 是該團第一小提琴李偉剛的哥哥。 如同他的弟弟, 李宏剛從小在父母的指導下學習小提琴。 他陸續就學於北京音樂學 院及上海音樂學院, 在且在1984年成為上海音樂學院的音樂教師。 後來成為紐約茱莉亞音樂學院的助教。 李宏剛原來的上海四重奏 第二小提琴手。 但為了該團需求, 他學會演奏中提琴從此一直擔認該團的中提琴手。 李宏剛也是上海愛樂樂團和上海音樂學院交響樂團 的獨奏家。 1987年, 他在意大利的Premio Paolo Borciani比賽中獲獎。

大提琴手尼古拉斯 (Nicholas Tzavaras): 是該團唯一在紐約市生長的美國人。 尼古拉斯在新英格蘭音樂學院及 紐約石溪州立大學 學習大提琴。 當他還是研究生, 他開始為他的社區東哈萊姆區(East Harlem)規劃大提琴作品”118音 樂中心“。 他現在是該計劃的顧問。 目前是蒙特克萊爾州立大學(Montclair)弦樂部協調員及大提琴教授。 他於2000年 加入上海四重奏身任大提琴手。 尼古拉斯曾參加 "從萬寶路來的音樂” (Musicians from Marlboro)和瑪丹 娜(Madonna)巡迴演出。 也曾在MTV ,  VH1 ,  大衛萊特曼(David Letterman)節 目上露面, 並在白宮為克林頓總統演出。 他的錄音包括了Delos, BIS Records, Camerata及New Albion。 他曾出現在奧斯卡獎提名的紀錄片“ 小奇蹟 ",  並與巨星梅麗史翠普Meryl Streep在電影“音樂之心”( "Music of the Heart”)合作演出, 該片所描述的真實女主角即是他的母親。

當晚, 目前任教於紐英崙音樂學院及耶魯大學音樂系著名鋼琴家陳宏寬, 將與上海四重奏同場演出。 陳宏寬出生於台灣。 在十幾歲時 隻身赴德國學習鋼琴, 後來在美國波士頓大學音樂系及紐英崙音樂學院完成學業, 獲得藝術家文憑。 他曾多次獲得多項國際性大獎, 包括魯賓斯坦及普松尼兩項重要比賽的金牌, 也在蕭邦、Geza Anda、Montreal、凡克萊本、伊麗莎白女皇等大賽中獲得 大獎, 並得到1991年Avery Fisher音樂成就獎。

一場災難性的意外手傷, 曾讓陳宏寬面對生命中最嚴酷的考驗與歷煉。 然而, 憑著毅力與對音樂的熱情, 他勤練中國氣功, 通由靜 坐在意念深底處療癒。 在復傷後第一次演出後, 波士頓環球報(The Boston Globe)評寫:  "這些年與 病魔搏鬥, 使他成為一個更不一樣, 更好的音樂家……他對音樂的理解和的想像力是罕見及超凡的。 他的音樂達至渾然天成的偉大藝術 。 ”

票價$15-$50,一百張學生免費票(十四歲以上)請上網索取。 六歲以下兒童請勿入場.該會可提供精美禮券,查詢請洽中華表演藝 術基金會譚嘉陵, 電話 781-259-8195或網站購票: www.ChinesePerformingArts.net

Notes on Krzysztof Penderecki’s String Quartet No. 3

The Third String Quartet has been written for the Shanghai Quartet; its premiere is scheduled for the Krzysztof Penderecki Festival in Warsaw, 21 November 2008.

For Penderecki, in the beginning was the violin. "When I was twelve, my father bought a good instrument for me from a Soviet soldier for a bottle of raw spirits,” he recalls in an interview. And he adds that he wrote his first violin pieces for his own pleasure, at eleven or twelve.

Two string quartets occupy a significant place in the composer’s oeuvre. His first (of 1960)appears in the context of Threnody, Anaklsasis and Polymorphia, i.e. works that have shaped the image of Polish sonorism. In the 1960s, sonorism became a trademark of the Polish School of Composing phenomenon and highlighted tone and colour, The Second Quartet (of 1968)was already composed after the St. Luke Passion, which gave rise to comments on Penderecki’s betrayal of the ideals of the avant-garde, the same avant-garde that he had spearheaded and defined. The Second and Third Quartets were written forty years apart. Significant changes had occurred in the composer’s oeuvre within these four decades: he was no longer "a barbarian in the garden” of music (as he had been seen with his early sonorist works that had caused such an outcry); using melody and euphony, he now drew thinner, more delicate lines, purified of excess.

A first reading of the yet unfinished score of the Third Quartet is enough to observe some features of the piece. Its dramaturgy is constructed according to the principle of continuity in the course of music – quite similarly to what happens in Concerto grosso. Yet this assumed continuity has its own phases, its own facets of music, contrasted as they are in tempo, character and tone. This music, then, can accommodate equally the brilliant and energetic playing in Vivace sections and the moments of softness and meditation as exemplified by the reflexive Adagio notturno. The singing and nocturne-like, indeed nocturnal tone has become a trademark of Penderecki’s "sound language” of recent years – and the same is true of recurring motives of music anchored in static tonal centres. What remains is thinking in terms of form delineated within clear boundaries of beginning and end. And intense emotion meeting a predefined order.

In a conversation with students of the Academy of Music in Kraków (conducted in February 2008), the composer confessed: "My entire life is to surprise, seek and find myself in a thicket”. This finds its confirmation in his music. More and more often, very special places can be found in the thicket of sounds – like green, sun-drenched clearings in a dark forest.


MALGORZATA JANICKA-SLYSZ
 


音 樂會門票分為$50 (貴賓保留區、可預先指定座位)及$30(不對號自由入座)兩種 , 學生票$15 (不對號自由座區)。 六歲以下兒 童請勿入場 。 購票:喬登廳票房: 617-585-1260, 波士頓書局(前世界書局): 617-451-1309, 葉秀聰鋼琴學校: 617-542-9129。 網站購票: http://www.ChinesePerformingArts.net 無手續費。
$50: VIP Reserved Seats
$30: open seating at non-VIP section
$15: student open seating at non-VIP section
Children under 6 not admitted.

提 供100張免費學生票 (14歲以上 , 每人一張)請上 贈票網頁 索票 。 
100 free student tickets available at www.ChinesePerformingArts.net only (1 per request for age 14 and up)
 

查 詢: 中華表演藝術基金會會長譚嘉陵, 電話: 781-259-8195, 傳真: 781-259-9147,
Email: Foundation@ChinesePerformingArts.net


    

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Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts



中華表演藝術基金會
Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts
Lincoln, Massachusetts
updated 2011