shanghai string quartet

It was my pleasure this evening to attend a performance by the acclaimed Shanghai String Quartet. The performance was held at the beautiful Libby Gardner Concert Hall on the University of Utah campus. The evening's program featured work from Beethoven including the Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1; Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95, "Serioso"; and the Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131. The Shanghai String Quartet was originally formed in Shanghai in 1983 and "has earned the reputation as one of the world's most outstanding string quartets." The quartet features violinists Weigang Li and Yi-Wen Jiang, violist Honggang Li and cellist Nicholas Tzavaras.

The evening began with Beethoven's Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1, the first in a series of six quartets commissioned by one of Vienna's most devoted patrons of chamber music, Prince Franz Joseph Lobkowitz. The second quartet Op. 95 F Minor, has been described as "theatrical to the hilt...intense and highly compressed." It "could well pass as an opera without words." Although Beethoven initially considered the quartet a private one, "written for [only] a small circle of connoisseurs and never to be performed in public" the work later premiered in 1814.

The final quartet and highlight of the evening's performance was the Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131. This quartet was composed only shortly before Beethoven's death. In fact, he never saw it in print as its release in June 1827 was three months following his death. When asked by his friend Karl Holz which quartet was his favorite, Beethoven replied: "Each in its own way! Art demands of us that we don't stand still!" Though later Beethoven told Holz he regarded the Op. 131 C-sharp Minor Quartet his greatest.

"If there is a string quartet currently in circulation that produces a more beautiful sound than the Shanghai Quartet, the name doesn't immediately come to mind."
- The New York Times

While all of the Beethoven quartets were wonderful the Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131 was my favorite. The arrangement was especially beautiful and it included some parts I liked very much. It is noteworthy that five days before his death in November 1828, composer Franz Schubert asked that this quartet be performed as his last musical request.

After a standing ovation the Shanghai String Quartet performed "Shepard's Song" a traditional Chinese folk song arranged by violinist Yi-Wen Jiang. This concluded the evening's performance and a night of wonderful music. It was really a pleasure to see the Shanghai String Quartet perform. I hope to have the opportunity to see them again soon.