… undeniable enthusiasm, energy and commitment…
-The Times London, March 2005
Flashes of inspired synchronicity that fired the senses into overdrive, even euphoria
-The Scotsman, August 2007
THE T’ANG QUARTET
NG Yu-Ying, 1st Violin
ANG Chek-Meng, 2nd Violin
Lionel TAN, Viola
Leslie TAN, Cello
T’ang is an acronym of the players’ surnames
The T’ANG QUARTET, formed in 1992, started their professional career in1999 with unanimity of purpose: to break new ground by extending the sheer fun and enjoyment of classical music to a larger audience, as well as setting new standards of artistic achievement.
Trained individually in London and Moscow, T’ANG QUARTET was awarded a fellowship in 1997 to work in the USA with celebrated artists Martha and Paul Katz of the Cleveland Quartet, Norman Fischer, Kenneth Goldsmith and Sergiu Luca at the Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, USA.
The Quartet’s hip and upbeat stage personality together with their collaboration with celebrated artists such as pianists Noriko Ogawa, Tedd Joselson and Horia Mihail, and cellists Carter Enyeart and Paul Katz, have captivated audiences in the USA, Europe, Australia, China and Southeast Asia.
The Quartet’s performances have garnered many international awards. They were prizewinners at the 2nd International Joseph Joachim Kammermusikwettbewerb in Weimar, Germany in 1999, receiving in addition the Special Jury Prize for best interpretation of a contemporary composition. The same year saw the Quartet awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant from the US Government to be a resident ensemble in a special programme of Chamber Music America.
In 2000, T’ang Quartet was also awarded the Bartok prize in Austria by the Prague-Vienna-Budapest Sommer Akademie and presented with the Cultural Award by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Singapore. The Quartet has since performed to critical acclaim internationally - from their highly praised 2005 debut at London's Wigmore Hall to the Tanglewood Festival. It also made appearances at the Cervantino Music Festival (Mexico), Cheltenham Festival(UK), West Cork Chamber Music Festival (Ireland), Canberra International Chamber Music Festival and the Huntington Estate Music Festival (both Australia).
Following the critical success of its London debut at Wigmore Hall in 2005, T’ANG QUARTET was invited to record for the BBC World International Recital Series in January 2006.
In June 2007, T'ang Quartet premiered Optical Identity; a collaborative production with Theatre Cryptic ( Scotland) was commissioned by the Singapore Arts Festival. The European premiere took take place at the Edinburgh International Festival in August, and the production then traveled to the Alicante International Contemporary Music Festival (Spain) in September, and tours Scotland in October and November 2007.
T’ANG QUARTET has made two commercial recordings. Its debut, The Art of War, received a rave review from The Strad in 2005. A second recording, Made in America, was released in May 2006. T’ang Quartet has also recorded the soundtrack for Feet Unbound, a feature film retracing the Long March as undertaken by teenage girls, directed by Ng Khee Jin.
The T’ANG QUARTET served on the faculty of Boston University’s Tanglewood Festival from 2001 to 2005 and is currently quartet-in-residence at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore.
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