From Formosa: Taiwan Philharmonic 2023 U.S. Tour - Part 2

Reporter/Provider - TaiwanPlus
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The Taiwan Philharmonic was honored to be one of the first international orchestras presented by the New York Philharmonic in David Geffen Hall upon their return to the United States for a national tour in the spring of 2023, led by new Music Director Jun Märkl. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “a first-rate ensemble, one of Asia’s best,” the Taiwan Philharmonic — known as the National Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan — began their American tour in April 2023 after successful tours to the country in 2016 and 2018. The wide-ranging repertoire of this program, performed on April 21, 2023, celebrates the vibrancy and diversity of cultures in Taiwan by including a new work — “Ebbs and Flows” by Taiwanese composer Ke-Chia Chen (she/her) — alongside European classics. Co-commissioned by Washington Performing Arts and Muzik3 Foundation Inc, “Ebbs and Flows” received its U.S. premiere just two days prior at The Kennedy Center on April 19, 2023. An international award winner, Dr. Chen frequently collaborates with The Philadelphia Orchestra and is a faculty member of the Curtis Institute of Music. The European repertoire on the program includes Max Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy,” a work for violin and orchestra inspired by Scottish folk songs, performed with violinist Paul Huang; Mendelssohn’s “The Hebrides Overture”; and Debussy’s “La Mer,” which highlights one of Maestro Märkl’s most celebrated specialties of French classical repertoire. This concert was supported by Charles Chen, the President of Chen-Yung Foundation and a board member of the New York Philharmonic. Founded in 1986, the Taiwan Philharmonic has been hailed as one of the best orchestras in Asia. It became the resident orchestra of the National Concert Hall and an artistic affiliate of the National Performing Arts Center in April 2014. Under the leadership of music director Jun Märkl since January 2022, the Taiwan Philharmonic aspires to resonate throughout the world as the official cultural ambassador of Taiwan and regularly commissions and performs new works by Taiwanese composers. During the past thirty years, the Taiwan Philharmonic has worked with many internationally acclaimed conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Rudolf Barshai, Sir Neville Marriner, Leonard Slatkin, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Christopher Hogwood, Osmo Vänskä, Long Yu, Nikolay Alexeev, Vassily Sinaisky and Carl St. Clair. In addition to performances in Taiwan, the orchestra regularly receives invitations from overseas and has toured Berlin, Vienna, Paris, Milan, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Los Angeles, and many other cities with critical acclaim.

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Concerts

The National Symphony Youth Orchestra (NSYO), founded in 2023, aims to cultivate outstanding young Taiwanese musicians and to serve as a cultural ambassador for Taiwan. In the summer of 2024, Music Director Jun Märkl conducted the NSYO to present a program featuring Gabriela Lena Frank’s Concertino