Shanghai Quartet with Wu Man (Photo: Ben Doyle)
Two-time Grammy-nominated artist Wu Man performs music for solo Chinese lute (pipa) and joins the renowned Shanghai Quartet for an all-Chinese program in this special Smithsonian appearance. She is a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble and was named Instrumentalist of the Year in 2013 by Musical America.
Strings magazine praised the Shanghai Quartet for “32 years of carrying the torch of rigorous musical integrity and profound commitment to playing music as if it was always being created anew.”
The quartet includes Weigang Li and Yi-Wen Jiang, violin, Honggang Li, viola, and Nicholas Tzavaras, cello.
Program
Tan Dun: Ghost Opera (chamber version)
Yi-Wen Jiang: Folksong Suite
Zhao Jiping, Zhao Lin: Red Lantern (Washington premiere)
Zhou Long: Song of the Ch’in
Wu Man: Kui: Song of Kazakhstan
This concert is a joint presentation with the Freer and Sackler Galleries as part of the Meyer Concert Series.
Other Connections
Wu Man talks about the pipa, including its history, how it's played, and the many sounds of the ancient plucked instrument.
