A World Class Conductor Using Old Chopsticks?! - Art Echo Ep1

Reporter/Provider - TaiwanPlus
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Notable Taiwanese conductor, Chien Wen-pin, believes, “No matter if it’s art or yourself, you need to fully understand your DNA before you’re ready to put your heart into a performance.” Chien graduated from National Taiwan University of the Arts with a major in piano before continuing his Masters in conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He’s since became the first Asian conductor to serve as permanent resident conductor for the German Opera on the Rhine. Now, as Artistic Director at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, he’s done his best to root himself in the local community and foster the limitless potential of Taiwanese musicians. Chien takes a rather minimalist approach. The director doesn’t like wearing tails and has been seen conducting with anything from a pen to a used chopstick. So long as the conductor can lead everyone through a successful performance then he’s done his part. The goal is ultimately to create connections and that’s precisely what Kaohsiung Center for the Arts is doing now. The public pianos in the Banyan Plaza attempt to move beyond classical presentation so that everyone can appreciate art. Accomplished pianists and beginner musicians alike are free to take a seat and let the music become part of their lives…

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Art Echo

Watch as different artists share the personal stories behind their creative process to help audiences examine their own relationship with creativity in all forms. Art is rarely a distant echo, it's the undercurrent pulsing through everyday life.