Already more than a year ago, I brought some friends to attend this concert, at which the adagio of Mahler’s fifth symphony was played, followed by the entirety of his fourth symphony. In short, the strings in the adagio were … Continue reading Concert Review: TSO’s Lieder of Mahler
Who doesn’t love a good premiere? It’s historical. I must say Maestro Lindberg is an outstandingly enthusiastic person, and I bought my ticket for this concert many months ago when they were on sale. The Taipei Symphony has been consistently … Continue reading TSO: Christian Lindberg’s Symphonic Postcard
Just a week after having finally heard Mahler 2 in concert, we pack into the same hall for a different ensemble and conductor but the same incredible chorus and an equally packed audience. This piece was also part of my season … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO’s Elias
This is another one of those concerts I have (very proudly, I might add) managed to gather people together to attend. Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin enjoyed quite a fantastic turnout on its opening night, and I was very glad at that performance to have been … Continue reading Concert review: NSO’s Fireworks from Russia
This is the actual part that talks about the concert. It’s the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra’s 70th anniversary, and what better piece (well, aside from like, Mahler 8) to commemorate than something as huge and glorious as the Auferstehung?! I talked earlier … Continue reading Concert Review: NTSO’s ‘Resurrection’
or Thoughts in preparation for attending my first live performance of one of the greatest symphonies ever written My goodness. How long I’ve been waiting for this concert. And I know it’s not Vienna or New York or Chicago or anything, but it’s still Mahler, and it’s still one of the most respected (or at least oldest) ensembles in the country. And I don’t have to travel down to 台中 to hear them. In any case, this was the Mahler work that made me fall in love with Mahler, and I’m not entirely sure why. (Also, if you’re unfamiliar with this … Continue reading Thoughts: NTSO’s ‘Resurrection’
with Håkan Hardenberger The takeaway from this concert: Håkan Hardenberger is a classy, really nice dude who makes beautiful sounds on the trumpet. Like a Swedish George Clooney. As with every Taipei Symphony performance Maestro Varga leads, this one is … Continue reading Concert Review: TSO’s Trumpet Calls on the Wasteland
And the third in a series of two-night features that will continue through into next year. The only difference is that I’m not going to both evenings this time. I can only attend the second night, but a good friend is … Continue reading Concert Review: Munich Philharmonic and 曾宇謙
This season with the NSO is one of big-name guests. Actually, the Taipei Symphony has invited some pretty great soloists to play, a recent visitor being Sabine Meyer. I didn’t actually know a whole lot about Neville Marriner until right up … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO and Neville Marriner
I’m going to start this discussion by talking about bad excuses for Italian food in Asia. Italian food in Asia usually isn’t. It’s Taiwanese, or Japanese, or Chinese Italian food. It’s sufficiently different from the local food that it makes for a nice change of pace now … Continue reading Concert Review: Parabola (Taipei Symphony)
It’s time to give the Taipei Philharmonic another chance. Let me explain. A few things. First, our ‘National Symphony Orchestra’ (from the original Chinese: 國家交響樂團) is referred to both in Chinese and English as the ‘NSO,’ but outside of Taiwan, … Continue reading Concert Review: Taipei Philharmonic
This is only my third opera, but after my incredibly awesome experience with Fidelio back in the summer, I was eager to revisit the National Theatre. This time, we enjoyed Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, the Taiwanese premiere, with the never-ceasing-to-impress Taipei Symphony Orchestra and lots of other … Continue reading Opera Review: Eugene Onegin
How quickly things happen. Just a few weeks ago, I was able to enjoy my first two-night concert set ever, and who better to enjoy it with than the Vienna Philharmonic? I’d gone to separate concerts back-to-back before, but never the … Continue reading Concert Review: The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
So… the Vienna Philharmonic is a tough act to follow. But I do love our local ensemble, and even though our maestro 呂紹嘉 wasn’t with us, I was still looking forward to the concert. I also have a confession: I … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO- A Fantastic Symphony
The actual music portion. Part one yesterday I suppose was more like a long preface or lead-in to the two concerts that will go down in my books as the most anticipated things I’ve ever attended. But yesterday, all we talked … Continue reading Concert Review: Vienna Philharmonic in Taipei- Part 2
So much to say, and yet so little that needs saying. It’s the Vienna Philharmonic. We have been extremely fortunate lately here in Taipei to have some really wonderful ensembles lined up. As you may have read, I saw the … Continue reading Concert Review: Vienna Philharmonic in Taipei- Part 1
I look here and there for good ‘beginner’ concerts, evenings with programs that would be really good for someone whose never set foot in a concert hall before. In thinking about that, I wrote yesterday’s post about what for me … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO- An Evening of Piano Concertos
I’m going to be saying this a lot this season, but this is a concert I’ve been looking forward to for months. The last concert I attended at our National Concert Hall was on May 28, over four months ago. … Continue reading Concert Review: NSO: A ‘Great’ Symphony
I’m telling you, we’re getting great stuff programmed here in Taipei. My knowledge of this concert goes back some time, to this day, actually, the day of a friend’s graduation recital (well, composition). Turns out the lady sitting behind me … Continue reading Concert Review: Ensemble Intercontemporain
And they begin. This was the first concert of the Taipei Symphony season I’ve been able to attend, and really the first concert of the season, but it wasn’t supposed to be. The TSO’s season opener back at the end … Continue reading Concert Review: Dance with Sabine Meyer (TSO)
The firsts. Also, could this have fit any better into the schedule? This was to be my first opera experience, but that title subsequently went, somewhat unexpectedly, to Ravel’s L’heure Espagnole, a piece I had the pleasure to attend last … Continue reading Beethoven: Fidelio