Shanghai String Quartet to end Arcady season

ORONO – For the final offering of its Silver Anniversary Season, Arcady Music Society will present “Silk Roads Lead to Maine” with the Shanghai String Quartet.

Hailed by The Strad as “a foursome of uncommon refinement and musical distinction,” the Shanghai Quartet has earned a reputation as one of the world’s most outstanding quartets.

Originally formed in Shanghai, the versatile ensemble is known for its passionate musicality, astounding technique and multicultural innovations.

The quartet’s elegant style of melding the delicacy of Eastern music with Western repertoire allows the performers to travel the world, both onstage and in the recording studio.

The chamber ensemble will offer selections from Beethoven, Barber, Ravel and even a taste of the Far East with Chinese folk songs, as arranged by quartet member Jiang Yi-Wen.

Formed at the Shanghai Conservatory in 1983, the Shanghai Quartet has collaborated with such distinguished artists as cellists Yo-Yo Ma and David Soyer; flutist Eugenia Zukerman; guitarists Eliot Fisk and Sharon Isbin; pianists Gerhard Oppitz, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Menahem Pressler, Ruth Laredo and Joseph Kalichstein; and violinist Arnold Steinhardt.

Teaching positions of the Shanghai Quartet include: Quartet-in-Residence at Montclair State University and the University of Richmond, and resident guest professorships at the Shanghai conservatory in China. The Quartet also has served as Ensemble-in-Residence at the Tanglewood and Ravinia festivals.

Regularly touring the major music centers of Europe and North America, the Shanghai Quartet has performed in London, Hamburg, Milan, Amsterdam, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, St. Paul, Toronto, and Washington. In addition, the musicians often tour major Asian cities in China, Japan, and Korea. The quartet also has performed in Australia and New Zealand.

“This beautiful program of music by an internationally famous group is the perfect way to wrap up Arcady’s 25th anniversary season,” said Arcady artistic director Dean Stein.

“Audiences have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic about our concerts this summer. Many have expressed to me the belief that the high quality of programming they find here is what will ensure Arcady’s future, and I look forward to bringing more great music to our summer audiences again as well as our winter concert series starting in October, which will feature the debut of the Musicians of Maine series,” he said.

There will be three opportunities to hear the Shanghai String Quartet perform:

. 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 22, Minsky Auditorium, Class of 1944 Hall, University of Maine, Orono.

. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23, Congregational Church, Dover-Foxcroft.

. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, St. Saviour’s Episcopal Church, Bar Harbor.

Arcady also supports and showcases the talented young musicians of Maine at its concerts. Pianist Jiyeon Kim of Portland, a finalist from this year’s Arcady Youth Competition, will perform at the beginning of each concert.

Arcady is made possible with the support of the Davis Family Foundation, the Rockefeller Fund, the Bangor Daily News and the Nakamura Brace Co.

Admission is $16 at the door, $13 in advance, $7 for college students with ID, free to those 18 and younger. For information, visit Arcady online at www.arcady.org, or reserve admission by calling 288-2141.