Hammer Theatre Center presents the Shanghai Quartet, one of the world’s foremost chamber ensembles. Founded at the Shanghai Conservatory by brothers Honggang and Weigang Li in the wake of China’s Cultural Revolution, the quartet placed 2nd at the Portsmouth International Quartet Competition in its first appearance outside of China. Now collaborating with the world’s most renowned artists including cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Peter Serkin, the Shanghai Quartet regularly performs at premier venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center. This multicultural quartet offers mastery of both the intimacy of traditional Chinese folk music and the grand emotional swells of familiar Western masterpieces, creating music described as “a harrowing experience, exploring vast emotional depths” (New York Classical Review).