The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Live music all weekend
Music Mountain’s Labor Day weekend celebration includes benefit concert
FALLS VILLAGE >> Music Mountain continues its 88th season with a holiday weekend of music this weekend with performances by the Shanghai String Quartet.
The Shanghai String Quartet’s Saturday night performance will include Mendelssohn: String Quartet in E Flat Major, Opus 12; Yi-Wen Jiang: Selections from Chinasong; and Brahms: String Quartet in C Minor, Opus 51 #1. The quartet’s most popular disc, Chinasong, is a collection of Chinese folk songs arranged by Violinist Yi-Wen Jiang reflecting on his childhood memories of the Cultural Revolution in China.
On Sunday, join the Shanghai String Quartet with guest artist Qing Jiang, piano, as they present a special concert featuring Beethoven: String Quartet in B Flat Major, Opus 18 #6; Beethoven: String Quartet in E Minor, Opus 59 #2; and Brahms: Piano Quartet in G Minor, Opus 25.
Renowned for its passionate musicality, impressive technique and multicultural innovations, the Shanghai Quartet has become one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles. Its 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 Shanghai 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 been regular performers at many of North America’s leading chamber music festivals. Additionally, the Quartet has an extensive discography of more than 30 recordings, ranging from the Schumann and Dvorak piano quintets with Rudolf Buchbinder to Zhou Long’s Poems from Tang for string quartet and orchestra with the Singapore Symphony (BIS).
The Shanghai Quartet now serves as Quartet-in-Residence at the John J. Cali School of Music, Montclair State University, Ensemble-in-Residence with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and visiting guest professors of the Shanghai Conservatory and the Central Conservatory in Beijing.
Praised by the New York Times as a “fiery musician” whose playing is “vigorous and passionate,” pianist Qing Jiang enjoys a diverse career in solo, chamber, and contemporary music.
A dynamic chamber musician, Jiang has collaborated with many leading artists and chamber ensembles and has worked directly with contemporary composers. She has appeared in Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Steinway Hall, and the Isabella Gardner Museum, as well as in the UK’s Snape Maltings Hall, and China’s Central Conservatory in Beijing. Committed to educating the next generation, Jiang is currently Assistant Professor
of Piano at Bucknell University.
Chamber music concerts continue with Amernet String Quartet with Vivek Kamath, Viola on Sept. 10, and the Juilliard String Quartet on Sept. 17.
To download a ticket order form visit www. musicmountain.org or call 860-824-7126.