The National Symphony Orchestra (國家交響樂團, NSO), currently on a performance tour across Japan, will hold a music concert at the City of Roses Fukuyama International Music Festival in Fukuyama City, Japan from May 13 to 14.
The NSO and violinist Richard Lin (林品任) will kick off the festival with an opening concert led by NSO music director Jun Märkl, performing "Roses From the South (Rosen aus dem Süden), Op. 388" by Austrian composer Johann Strauss II. For the final performance of the festival, the orchestra will play classic Russian pieces by Mikhail Glinka and Sergei Rachmaninoff in the first half and the timeless masterpiece "La Mer (海)" by French composer Claude Debussy in the second half, bringing the festival to a perfect end.
Prior to the festival, the orchestra performed in Hyogo Prefecture on May 6 and in Tokyo on May 9, marking the orchestra's return to Japan after a two-year hiatus. Under the direction of Jun Märkl, the performance on May 9 featured Richard Lin, pianist Fukuma Kotaro, the Metropolitan Chorus, and the Octangle Male Choir, presenting a series of pieces like "La Mer," "Scottish Fantasy" by Max Bruch, "Golden Bean on the Horizon of Formosa (日出台灣)" by Gordon Shi-Wen Chin (金希文), "Choral Fantasy" by Ludwig van Beethoven, and more. In addition, three exclusively prepared student concerts were presented from May 11 to 12, featuring NSO associate conductor Wu Yao-yu (吳曜宇) and violinist Minami Yoshida.
Founded in 1986, NSO, better known as Taiwan Philharmonic when it performs overseas, has been hailed as one of the best orchestras in Asia. Under the leadership of Jun Märkl, the NSO aspires to resonate throughout the world as the cultural ambassador of Taiwan.
(Photo courtesy of NSO)