Shanghai Quartet basks in memories, plaudits during return tour

From April 9 to 19, the Shanghai Quartet embarked on a highly anticipated tour across the United States, performing in Washington DC, Boston, Maine, Florida, and concluding at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York.

Their program was a delicate interplay of Eastern and Western musical traditions, featuring composer Tan Dun's evocative Feng Ya Song, Franz Joseph Haydn's String Quartet in G minor, Op. 74, No. 3, or "Rider", George Gershwin's Lullaby, and Antonin Dvorak's American Quartet.

But beyond the music itself, this tour became a poignant reflection on time, mentorship, and the enduring power of cultural exchange.

Formed at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1983 by first violinist Weigang Li and his brother, viola player Honggang Li, the Shanghai Quartet has toured worldwide and joined The Tianjin Juilliard School in the fall of 2021.

The quartet now consists of cellist He Sihao, violinist Yu Xiang and the two founding members.

For second violinist Yu, Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, has always held a special place in his heart. Yu first experienced the Shanghai Quartet as a student at the New England Conservatory, sitting in the audience during a performance of Johannes Brahms' Piano Quintet with pianist Hung-Kuan Chen.

It was only his second live encounter with the quartet, the first having been in Shanghai. Years later, Yu returned — not as a student, but as a performer, stepping onto the same Jordan Hall stage at the conservatory as a member of the ensemble he once admired.

The Shanghai Quartet's program elegantly reflected a dialogue between cultures. Tan's Feng Ya Song brought contemporary Chinese textures to United States audiences, merging traditional tonalities with modern compositional techniques.