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In recent years, the Shanghai Quartet has often collaborated with the Shanghai Symphony

Orchestra (SSO). Whenever these four veteran musicians assume the roles of guest principals, the

SSO radiates a remarkable aura. The four players with their wonderful stage presence have become

SSO stalwarts; this time, quartet and orchestra appear together on the BMF stage. Stravinsky’s

Pulcinella Suite bears testament to how the composer, after creating three outstanding ballets,

continued to transform his musical style, marking the beginning of his neoclassical period. In fact,

Stravinsky once praised the second piece on this program— Beethoven ’ s Grosse Fuge —as “the

most absolutely contemporary piece of music I know, and contemporary forever.” Although

Beethoven’s complex single-movement work has befuddled listeners for more than two centuries, it

remains all the more appealing to many. The final piece in the program is John Adams’s Absolute

Jest, which transports the audience back to our time. This is a concerto for string quartet and

orchestra in which the composer incorporates elements from Beethoven’s Grosse Fuge and other

late quartets, injecting them with humor and symbolism. Interestingly, Adams was listening to

Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite when he was inspired to compose Absolute Jest, bringing everything

full circle.

This is a veritable gathering of old friends at the BMF. The Shanghai Quartet first appeared at the

2001 BMF. In 2013, marking the quartet’ s 30 th anniversary, they were honored as “Artist of the

Year.” Thus 2023 marks more than two decades of friendship, celebrating a generation’s pride and

joy.

Track:

Arvo Pärt: Fratres
Igor Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite
I. Sinfonia
II. Serenata
III. Scherzino – Allegretto – Andantino
IV. Tarantella
V. Toccata
VI. Gavotta (con due variazioni)
VII. Vivo
VIII. Minuetto – Finale

—intermission—

Ludwig Van Beethoven: Grosse Fuge op.133
John Adams: Absolute Jest

Artist/Group:

Shanghai Quartet：

Weigang Li, first violin  

Angelo Xiang Yu, second violin

Honggang Li, viola

Nicholas Tzavaras, cello

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra

Sun Yifan ,  conductor