Cellist Nicholas Tzavaras is the longest-serving cellist of the Shanghai Quartet. After 24 years at
, Savalas announced on his personal social media that he will step down from his cello position this summer and will also end his teaching work at the Tianjin Juilliard School in July this year.
Cellist Nicolas Savalas
"I will miss my friends and colleagues in China, but I can no longer be separated from my family. I look forward to spending every day with my three children." Zavalas Si also thanked his wife Sophia, "In the two years since I left, she has maintained the home gracefully and firmly without a single complaint. As the spouse of a quartet player, she should receive the Lifetime Achievement Award."
Sava Lars also expressed his gratitude to his past and present partners in the Shanghai Quartet, "Thank you for all your great performances, lifelong friendships, and truly sincere music-making. To have been part of this elegant ensemble for nearly a quarter of a century." I feel extremely honored and humbled to be part of the chamber orchestra."
Shanghai Quartet performance, second from right is Nicolas Savalas
"We have had 4 cellists, the first three stayed for 2 years, 4 years, and 10 years respectively. Years ago, he is the longest-serving one." When introducing Savalas, first violinist Li Weigang once said.
Savalas is a native New Yorker. He was only 25 years old when he joined the Shanghai Quartet. In a flash, 24 years have passed. Because of his beard, he is sometimes mistaken for the oldest member of the group.
For Savalas as a teenager, China was a distant and mysterious existence. Before joining the Shanghai Quartet, he could never imagine that half of his life would be so closely connected with China.
"Most Americans don't have channels to understand China. I didn't know much about Chinese music before. I only heard it sporadically in Chinatown." Since 2000, he has performed in China with the Shanghai Quartet almost every year and has performed a large number of Chinese works. , I have a deeper understanding of Chinese music, culture, food, dialects and beautiful and strange mountains and rivers, and I have made many interesting Chinese friends.
Nicholas Savalas teaching at Tianjin Juilliard School
The members of the Shanghai Quartet originally lived in the United States and used the world as their performance stage. In December 2021, the Shanghai Quartet decided to return to China to take root. At the same time, it settled in Tianjin as the resident teacher quartet of the Tianjin Juilliard School, contributing to the music education of Chinese chamber music and passing on valuable experience to the next generation.
It is not easy for every performer to uproot from a familiar place, especially Savalas. "It was a difficult decision. It took me several months to convince myself, and several more to Months to convince my wife."
The Shanghai Quartet is the oldest quartet in China. It sprouted at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1983. Brothers Li Weigang and Li Honggang are the founding members.
In 2023, the Shanghai Quartet will turn 40 years old. It has planned many blockbuster performances across the country and is highly sought after wherever it goes. The four performers embarked on a 6,000-kilometer tour in China, measuring the land of China with 4 bows and 16 strings.
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