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Tag: Taiwan

concert review1 Comment

NSO’s 2018 Season Opener

September 14, 2018September 14, 2018 Fugue for Thought

featuring Arabella Steinbacher, violin Well, it’s certainly been quite some time since we did this, hasn’t it? The last one was a couple of months ago, but before that… was another couple of months of not much concertgoing. It seemed … Continue reading NSO’s 2018 Season Opener

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NSO’s Shostakovich 1

April 15, 2018April 15, 2018 Fugue for Thought

featuring guest conductor Michiyoshi Inoue and harpist Xavier de Maistre This is a first for me, and for a few others in my (very small) entourage this evening. For me, it’s a first to hear Shostakovich’s first in person, and for them, … Continue reading NSO’s Shostakovich 1

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NSO’s Mahler 7

March 30, 2018March 30, 2018 Fugue for Thought

Songs of Destiny and the Night In contrast with last week’s meagre turnout, depending on who you ask, due to Bartók and/or Sibelius, we had a packed concert hall tonight for Mahler’s seventh symphony, preceded by Brahms’ Schicksalslied.  Nearly as fascinating … Continue reading NSO’s Mahler 7

concert review, opera1 Comment

Ningbo Symphony’s Carmen

January 13, 2018January 14, 2018 Fugue for Thought

featuring the Ningbo Symphony Orchestra, Creation Opera Institute, and more I have opined before that opera is a rarity here, so I wasn’t going to miss the chance to see one of the more famous pieces in the repertoire being … Continue reading Ningbo Symphony’s Carmen

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Akiko & NSO

January 12, 2018January 13, 2018 Fugue for Thought

featuring Akiko Suwanai, violin, and Dorian Wilson, conductor It’s been a while since I’ve been in our local concert hall, I feel, and others told me so this evening as I found my seat (and three others a few rows back … Continue reading Akiko & NSO

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NSO’s At the Movies 2: Star Wars

December 17, 2017December 17, 2017 Fugue for Thought

featuring Jo-Pei Weng (翁若珮) and the Taipei Philharmonic Chorus When you think of famous movie scores, what do you think of? Most likely John Williams. Maybe Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, or Danny Elfman, James Horner, Philip Glass. Well, The Last Jedi came … Continue reading NSO’s At the Movies 2: Star Wars

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Glass’s The Photographer

December 2, 2017December 2, 2017 Fugue for Thought

featuring: Annapaola Leso Samuel Déniz Falcón David Pallant Director/Choreographer: 孫尚綺 (Sun Shang-chi) Music Director and Conductor: Manuel Nawri Ensemble KNM Berlin (Violin soloist: Theodor Flindell) Taipei Chamber Singers …and more. I’ve been mesmerized by Glass’s Einstein on the Beach now for some … Continue reading Glass’s The Photographer

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Thomas Hampson in Taiwan

November 10, 2017November 10, 2017 Fugue for Thought

with the NSO under Kahchun Wong It’s all Mahler tonight. Another performance of Mahler’s first. But that wasn’t the only first on the program. The terribly charming, famous, and very talented Thomas Hampson made his very first visit to our … Continue reading Thomas Hampson in Taiwan

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NSO’s Bruckner 7

June 16, 2017June 16, 2017 Fugue for Thought

featuring Wen-Sinn Yang, cello The NSO finished their concert season two years ago, in the spring of 2015, with Bruckner’s eighth symphony, a monumental work with which I was unfortunately not familiar enough to appreciate in full at the time. … Continue reading NSO’s Bruckner 7

concert review2 Comments

TSO’s Don Quixote

May 27, 2017May 27, 2017 Fugue for Thought

featuring cellist Pablo Ferrández and conductor Robert Trevino It’s been quite some time since I’ve paid the Taipei Symphony a visit, in fact more than four months. They spent a little time traveling down south for some concerts, and had one or two … Continue reading TSO’s Don Quixote

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Blacher & NSO

May 5, 2017May 5, 2017 Fugue for Thought

featuring Kolja Blacher (subtitled ‘The Arts of Play & Lead’) Beethoven, Brahms, Britten and Blacher. But not in that order. That ‘Play and Lead’ title refers exactly to what made this concert so special, the almost unbelievable feat that Blacher … Continue reading Blacher & NSO

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NSO’s Pre-tour Concert

March 15, 2017March 15, 2017 Fugue for Thought

featuring Ray Chen More Russian music. Another violin concerto. But this time, it’s goodbye to the NSO, temporarily anyway. They’re off to Europe this weekend, and before they go jet-setting, they gave us a preview of some of the pieces … Continue reading NSO’s Pre-tour Concert

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NSO: Blazing Masterpieces

March 4, 2017March 4, 2017 Fugue for Thought

Welcome back, everyone, to another round of concert reviews, with stuff I always forget to mention, people who don’t know how to behave themselves in public, stunning, stellar music, a later bedtime than I usually have, and the overwhelming feeling … Continue reading NSO: Blazing Masterpieces

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Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Taipei

December 2, 2016December 3, 2016 Fugue for Thought

We’re quite spoilt here in Taipei. I won’t go on again about having seen the world-famous ensembles from Berlin, Vienna, Chicago, and Munich come visit, along with the likes of the Concertgebouw and Philharmonia, and on and on, but we … Continue reading Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Taipei

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NSO: The Immortal 9th

October 29, 2016October 29, 2016 Fugue for Thought

Beethoven’s ninth. Everyone knows it. Or they think they do. ‘Ode to Joy’ has been used and reused in everything from church hymns to TV commercials, but do you know the whole thing, its ins and outs, and what it … Continue reading NSO: The Immortal 9th

concert review1 Comment

NTSO: Kamu’s Mahler

October 21, 2016October 22, 2016 Fugue for Thought

featuring tenor Stephen Gould and mezzo soprano Dana Beth Miller under Okko Kamu The list of Mahler symphonies left to see live is narrowing, and tonight’s program showcased the two (one and a half? quarter?) pieces of Mahler’s that I’m … Continue reading NTSO: Kamu’s Mahler

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NSO’s A Hero’s Life

September 22, 2016September 23, 2016 Fugue for Thought

30th Anniversary Season Opener, featuring Leonidas Kavakos Well, I’m a bit late in coming with this. The concert was almost a week ago, and came at the end of an extremely long day (and weekend, involving a national holiday, two typhoons, a … Continue reading NSO’s A Hero’s Life

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NSO’s 2016/17 Salon Concert

July 10, 2016July 11, 2016 Fugue for Thought

The salon concert is here! I had the privilege of attending last year, and as usual, it was a highly-anticipated event. It’s the NSO’s 30th anniversary this coming season, and we had the privilege of enjoying comments and thoughts from … Continue reading NSO’s 2016/17 Salon Concert

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Opera: Verdi’s Otello

July 9, 2016July 10, 2016 Fugue for Thought

as below: The end. Opera is one of the best things ever. And it’s something we don’t get nearly enough of here in Taipei. Unfortunately, we’ll likely be getting even less of it now that the opera house, built in … Continue reading Opera: Verdi’s Otello

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NSO’s Two Great Seconds

May 27, 2016May 27, 2016 Fugue for Thought

Could it, should it, be the job of every conductor and every orchestra with every concert to convince their audience that the piece being performed is the greatest symphony or concerto or whatever ever written? I’d say perhaps so. And … Continue reading NSO’s Two Great Seconds

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Concert Review: 張昊晨 Piano Recital

April 20, 2016April 21, 2016 Fugue for Thought

April has been and will continue to be a busy month for concerts, as will May. It is due in part to last-minute concerts I heard about and didn’t want to miss. Last weekend’s chamber concert of Spohr and Brahms was … Continue reading Concert Review: 張昊晨 Piano Recital

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