Did You Know That ... ?
- When Ma Shui-long was five years old, his family moved to Jiufen (九份), a mountainous area in northern Taiwan, to hide from the air strikes during the latter years of World War II. Ma's childhood memories at the mountain village became his inspiration for music.
- During his stay in Germany, an occasional conversation about classical music with two Germans in a concert gave him conviction in developing and promoting the unique sound of Formosa - namely the folk music of Taiwan.
- For his deft combination of Eastern and Western classic music, Ma was praised for "letting his instruments speak in a European voice but with an Asian mind” by The New York Times.
Read more about the esteemed composer here or scroll down for pictures.