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Taiwanese orchestra NSO to hold Tokyo concerts in January, May

  • Date:2020-01-18~2020-05-06
Taiwanese orchestra NSO to hold Tokyo concerts in January, May

The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO, also known as Taiwan Philharmonic) will be playing two sets of performances in Japan this year. Taiwanese-American violinist Richard Lin (林品任) will kick off the January leg of the tour by holding a pop-up solo violin performance at the newly opened Eslite Life mall in Tokyo on Jan. 18.

In addition to performing the powerful "Sonatas and Partitas BWV 1006" by Bach, Lin will also evoke the well-known Taiwanese folk song "Longing for Spring Breeze (望春風)." Lin was propelled into the spotlight after winning the Gold Medal prize at the Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 2018 as the first Asian violinist to receive this prize at the competition.

Additionally, Lin has also won First Prize and Audience Prize for violin at the Sendai International Music Competition (SIMC). Since 2018, Lin has been performing with NSO in Taipei and Kaohsiung, in addition to a solo performance in Japan last May.

NSO's January tour in Japan will be a gathering of well-known performers including NSO Acting Concertmaster Teng Hao-tun (鄧皓敦), violist Jubel Chen (陳猶白), cellist Lien Yi-shien (連亦先), clarinet player Ju May-lin (朱玫玲), violinist Lin, cellist Felix Fan (范雅志), and pianist Wang Pei-yao (王佩瑤), together with distinguished Japanese conductor Heiichiro Ohyama (大山平一郎) and violinist Yurina Otsuka (大塚百合菜).

For this special occasion, NSO will be performing popular classics in addition to Taiwanese composer Chang Shiuan's (張玹) latest work "Niǎn Tǔ (捻土)." "Niǎn Tǔ" is a clarinet and string quartet, inspired by Hakka painter Xiao Ru-song's (蕭如松) paintings and Hakka Eight Notes music (客家八音), which refers to the eight materials used to make Hakka instruments: metal, stone, earthenware, animal hide, string, fruit shell, wood, and bamboo.

There will be another NSO performance in May at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. The program will include Taiwanese composer Gordon Chin's (金希文) "Golden Beam on the Horizon of Formosa (日出臺灣)" and “Wayfarer's Night Song (旅人的夜曲)," as well as other popular classics from Taiwan.



Date: Jan. 18, 2020
Time: 4pm
Location: Eslite Life, Tokyo
Program:
Bach: Sonatas and Partitas BWV 1006
Longing for Spring Breeze

Date: Jan. 19, 2020
Time: 3pm
Location: Margotto Hanare, Tokyo
Program:
Pablo de Sarasate: Navarra, Op. 33
Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A major, K 581

Date: Jan. 21, 2020
Time: 7pm
Location: Hakuju Hall, Tokyo
Program:
Shiuan Chang: Niǎn Tǔ (world premiere)
Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8
Antonín Dvořák: Piano Quintet No. 2, Op. 81
Tickets: https://eplus.jp/sf/detail/2801830002-P0030002P021001 

Date: May 16, 2020
Time: 6pm
Location: Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall
Program:
Gordon Chin: Golden Beam on the Horizon of Formosa, Wayfarer's Night Song
Toshi Ichiyanagi: Double Concerto
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92