Shanghai Quartet

Seating is limited. Reserve your seat in advance to pick where you sit ($6 fee per seat). Join the standby line for remaining seats on the day of the concert, free of charge.

Over the past forty-two years, the Shanghai Quartet has become one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles. Their elegant style, impressive technique, and emotional breadth allow the group to move seamlessly between masterpieces of Western music, traditional Chinese folk music, and cutting-edge contemporary works. In their long history of championing new music, the quartet highlight works that juxtapose the traditions of Eastern and Western music.

Formed at the Shanghai Conservatory in 1983, soon after the end of China’s harrowing Cultural Revolution, the group came to the United States to complete its studies and were based in the US for more than thirty-five years while touring throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. In September 2020, the Shanghai Quartet moved back to China to join the resident faculty of The Tianjin Juilliard School, becoming one of the only Asian-based internationally touring string quartets.
The program features:

• Haydn’s String Quartet in G minor, Op. 74, No. 3 “Rider”
• Tan Dun’s Feng Ya Song
• Gershwin’s Lullaby
• Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96 “American”

The Shanghai Quartet proudly enjoys sponsorship from Thomastik-Infeld Strings and BAM Cases. They are currently performing on a set of exquisite Italian antique instruments generously provided by the Beare’s International Violin Society.

This performance is part of the Bill and Mary Meyer Concert Series. The Bill and Mary Meyer Concert Series is generously made possible by the Bill and Mary Meyer Concert Series Endowment. Suntory is the Lead Corporate Sponsor of the 2025–2026 concert series.
Photo by Erin Baiano.