The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO; ), also known as Taiwan Philharmonic () outside

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, is one of the leading

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

s in Asia. Since 1987, the orchestra has its residence in the

National Theater and Concert Hall (Taiwan) The National Theater () and National Concert Hall () are twin performing arts venues at Liberty Square in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. Completed in 1987, the landmarks stand on the south and north sides of the square with Chiang Kai-s ...

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

, Taiwan.

Activities

Subscription Concert Series

In the year of 2002, NSO held a series of five concerts that featured all nine symphonies and five piano concertos by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

. The concerts, called a ''discovery cycle'' (), became NSO's regular Subscription Concert Series later since the 2004/2005 season. In each season, there are ten concerts consisting of at least one orchestral work of a composer. From September 2004 to June 2008, four Subscription Concert Series have been presented. ; 2007/2008:

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

; 2006/2007:

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

; 2005/2006:

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

; 2004/2005:

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

; 2002/2003:

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

In the 2008/2009 season, a newly created MyNSO series () took place of the Subscription Concert Series.

Opera Series

Already in November 1994, NSO performed opera in

National Concert Hall The National Concert Hall (NCH) (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is a national cultural institution, sometimes described as "the home of music in Ireland". It comprises the actual concert hall operation, which in various chambers hosts over 1,000 ...

, ''

Der fliegende Holländer ' (''The Flying Dutchman''), WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hoftheater Dresden in 1843. Wagner claim ...

'' was led by Prof. TSENG Dao-hsiung (), in December 2000,

Jahja Ling Jahja Ling () is a conductor, music director and pianist. From 2004 to 2017, he was the music director and conductor at the San Diego Symphony. Following his retirement in 2017, he plans to do guest conducting, as well as teaching and voluntee ...

performed '' Hänsel und Gretel''. Under Chien Wen-pin's directorship, he first tried a semi-stage performance of the Third Act of ''

Die Walküre (; ''The Valkyrie''), WWV 86B, is the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on ...

'' in May 2002, this experience became NSO's regular NSO Opera Series () from the 2002/2003 season. In each season, there are two opera directed by cross-over artist in

, the cast consisted mainly local singers. From December 2002 to December 2007, fourteen operas have been produced, many of them were Taiwan's premier*. ; 2007/2008 : ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original ...

'' ; 2006/2007 : *''

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the '' Nibe ...

'' (complete), ''

Die lustige Witwe ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt t ...

'' ; 2005/2006 : ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'', ''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' ; 2004/2005 : *''

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid *Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Lazi ...

'', *''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

'' ; 2003/2004 : *''

La damnation de Faust ''La damnation de Faust'' (English: ''The Damnation of Faust''), Op. 24 is a work for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz. He called it a "''légende dramatique'' ...

'', ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'' ; 2002/2003 : ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'', *''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...

Fairy Tale Forever Series

From April 2002 to April 2008, NSO has been collaborated with four different performing groups and organizations for bringing musical experiences () to the young audiences. ; 2007/2008 : ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...

'' ; 2006/2007 : ''

Le Carnaval des Animaux ''The Carnival of the Animals'' (''Le Carnaval des animaux'') is a humorous musical suite of fourteen movements, including " The Swan", by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The work, about 25 minutes in duration, was written for priva ...

'' ; 2005/2006 : ''

Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures * Bennu, Egyptian firebird * Huma bird, Persian firebird * Firebird (Slavic folklore) Bird species ''Various spe ...

'' ; 2004/2005 : ''Secret in the Woods'' ; 2003/2004 : ''Pied Piper Fantasy'' ; 2002/2003 : ''

Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и Bолк, r="Pétya i volk", p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk, links=no) Op. 67, a "symphonic fairy tale for children", is a musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a children's s ...

Artistic Direction

* Gerard Akoka, artistic advisor and principal conductor 1986-1990 * Urs Schneider, artistic advisor and principal conductor 1991-1992 * Hsu Chang-huei (), music director (commissioner) 1994 * Chang Da-sheng (), music director 1995-1997 *

(), music director 1998-2001 * Chien Wen-pin (), music director 2001-2007 *

Günther Herbig Günther Herbig (born 30 November 1931) is a German conductor. Born in Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia, Herbig studied conducting at the Franz Liszt Academy in Weimar in 1951 (then in East Germany) with Hermann Abendroth. He later was a student ...

, artistic advisor and principal guest conductor 2008-2010 * Lu Shao-chia (), music director 2010-2021 *

Jun Märkl Jun Märkl (born 11 February 1959 in Munich) is a German conductor. Biography Born to a Japanese pianist mother and a German violinist father, Märkl studied piano and the violin as a youth. Beginning in 1978 at the Musikhochschule Hannover he co ...

, artistic advisor 2021, Music Director 2022-

Musicians

; Concertmasters : Wu Ting-yu (), Li I-ching () ; Associate concertmaster : Teng Hao-tun () ; Assistant Conductor : Chang Yin-fang () * Strings (14-14-11-9-8) * Woodwinds (4-4-4-4) * Brass (6-4-3-0) * Timpani & Percussion (5) * Harp (1)

Recordings

NSO has published the following recordings under their own label of "NSO Live": * Chien Wen-pin & NSO Live: Mahler Symphony No. 4 & Shostakovich Symphony No. 8 (2008) *

Lü Shao-chia Lü Shao-chia (; born 1960) is a Taiwanese conductor. He has been music director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan since 2010. Biography Born in Hsinchu, Taiwan, Lü studied piano at an early age. Initiated by Taiwanese conductor C ...

& NSO Live: Shostakovich Symphony No. 4 &

Ein Heldenleben ''Ein Heldenleben'' (''A Hero's Life''), Op. 40, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss. The work was completed in 1898. It was his eighth work in the genre, and exceeded any of its predecessors in its orchestral demands. Generally agreed to be aut ...

(2009) *

& NSO Live: Mahler Symphony No. 6 (2009) * Bruckner Symphony No. 9 Live with Günther Herbig (2010) * Mahler Symphony No. 9 Live with Günther Herbig (2010) Projects with conductor Lim Kek-tjiang and

Rudolf Barshai Rudolf Borisovich Barshai (russian: Рудольф Борисович Баршай, link=no, September 28, 1924November 2, 2010) was a Soviet and Russian conductor and violist. Life Barshai was born on September 28, 1924, in Stanitsa Labinskay ...

are also scheduled.

Staffs

; Executive Director Joyce Chiou () *Planning & Production *Marketing & Development *Administration ; Chairman of the board of directors, National Performing Arts Center JU Tzong-ching () ; Executive and artistic director, National Theater and Concert Hall LEE Huey-mei ()

References

External links

* {{authority control 1986 establishments in Taiwan Musical groups established in 1986 Taiwanese orchestras