Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te expresses his condolences over the passing of Professor Tzeng Shing-Kwei, an important promoter of contemporary Taiwanese music and a pioneer of electronic music, who passed away on August 12 due to illness at the age of 75.
MOC pointed out that Professor Tzeng Shing-Kwei was an iconic composer who promotes the development of modern music in Taiwan. He was one of the few musicians who specialized in the creation of electronic music. After returning to Germany in 1981, he taught at National Taiwan Normal University and cultivated countless talents. Moreover, he was involved in the establishment of "International Society for Contemporary Music (中華民國現代音樂協會)" and "Taiwan Computer Music Association (中華民國電腦音樂學會)." In the early days of Taiwan's contemporary music development, he was dedicated to development of technological electronic music, which opened up an avant-garde spirit of innovation, and made him an iconic figure in Taiwan's music industry.
Professor Tzeng had cooperated with Taiwan Music Institute (傳藝中心臺灣音樂館) in several concerts in recent years, having released the world premiere of the work "Footprints of Spring (春天的腳印)" in 2020 and "Wei Chuang Premiere Series Chorus Special – Sounds Back to Taiwan (委創首演系列合唱專場－聲迴臺灣)." Additionally, the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (NTSO) is currently working on the "Formosa Musicians on 4K5G (4K5G上的福爾摩沙音樂家)" project, and has also planned to include Tzeng's works "Small Symphony: For Taiwan (小交響曲─為臺灣而作)" and "Three Scenes of Windy City (風城三景)."
Lee Yung-te said that Professor Tzeng Shing-Kwei's works are diverse in style and content, show abundant creativity, and have made outstanding contributions to the development of Taiwan's music.
MOC will continue to promote the musical works composed for Taiwan by Professor Tzeng Shing-Kwei and pay tribute to his life-long dedication to Taiwanese art, Lee added.