Zheng Wenxiao, the violist of the Dragon Quartet, is the Principal Viola of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Historical Context
Borodin was part of the 'Mighty Handful,' a group of pacemaker composers including Balakirev, Musorgsky, César Cui, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, who championed 'genuine' Russian music.
Performer Biography
Wang Xiaomao, the second violinist of the Dragon Quartet, is the concertmaster of the China National Ballet Orchestra.
Composition History
Shostakovich's Eighth String Quartet was written in 1960, shortly after he saw the bombed ruins of Dresden and received a diagnosis of myelitis, a spinal cord inflammation.
Performer Biography
Ning Feng and Qin Liwei, both internationally established Chinese soloists, conceived the idea of forming the Dragon String Quartet.
Performer Biography
The Dragon String Quartet, formed in 2012, is composed of four celebrated young Chinese musicians: Ning Feng, Wang Xiaomao, Zheng Wenxiao, and Qin Liwei.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Borodin, an illegitimate child of a Georgian prince, was a chemist by training but became convinced of his calling to music through contact with Modest Musorgsky and Mily Balakirev.
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