The Taiwan Philharmonic - known as the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) in its homeland – will be one of the first international orchestra to be presented by the New York Philharmonic in David Geffen Hall in their return to the United States for a tour in April, 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 begins their American tour in April 2023 after successful tours to the country in 2016 with violinist Cho-Liang Lin (林昭亮) and in 2018 with pianist Stephen Hough and violinist Yu-Chien Tseng(曾宇謙). The 2023 tour launches in New York City with a chamber music concert at Alice Tully Hall (April 14), supported by CTBC Bank, New York Branch and CTBC Bank Corp. (USA). In a close collaboration, Taiwan Philharmonic and CMS present Beethoven’s Piano Trio, Caplet’s Conte fantastique, Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, and Shostakovich’s Prelude and Scherzo for String Octet. Musicians include pianist Wu Han (吳菡) ; violinists Stella Chen (陳思蕾) , Danbi Um (嚴丹苾), Richard Lin (林品任), Hao-Tun Teng (鄧皓敦) and Chih-Hong Tseng (曾智弘); violists Hsin-Yun Huang (黃心芸) and Grace Huang (黃瑞儀); cellists David Finckel, Mihai Marica and Ying-Chi Tang (唐鶯綺); and clarinetist Julian Chun-Yen Lai (賴俊諺), as well as harpist Shannon Shuen Chieh (解瑄).
The tour continues with the orchestra concert at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. presented by Washington Performing Arts (April 19), and returns to New York City at David Geffen Hall presented by the New York Philharmonic (April 21), supported by Charles Chen (陳致遠), the President of Chen-Yung Foundation (勇源基金會) and a board member of the New York Philharmonic. The tour concludes at Wentz Concert Hall in the western Chicago suburb of Naperville (April 23). Recipient of the prestigious 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2017 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, Taiwanese-American violinist Paul Huang (黃俊文) joins the orchestra for the last three performances.
The wide-ranging repertoire on the tour celebrates the vibrancy and diversity of cultures in Taiwan by including two unique Taiwanese works, alongside European classics. The first is a new work, Ebbs and Flows, by Taiwanese composer Ke-Chia Chen(陳可嘉) - co-commissioned by Washington Performing Arts and Muzik3 Foundation, Inc - and the second is from Taiwanese composer Yuan-Chen Li(李元貞) 's Tao of Meinong, commissioned by Hakka Affairs Council. Dr. Chen's work receives its U.S. premiere at The Kennedy Center on April 19 and a subsequent performance on April 21, while Li's work is performed on April 23. An international award winner, Dr. Chen frequently collaborates with The Philadelphia Orchestra and is a faculty member of the Curtis Institute of Music. Yuan-Chen Li's music reflects concepts in ancient Chinese phonology, Taiwanese chamber and aboriginal music, Asian traditional arts, literature, and Buddhism, resulting in a cross-cultural and cross-disciplined approach to music.
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 Taiwanese culture and regularly commissions and performs new works by Taiwanese composers.
The European repertoire on the tour includes Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, a work for violin and orchestra inspired by Scottish folk songs, performed with 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.
Tickets are now on sale and available for purchase through each respective venue. Please refer to the details below.
2023 U.S. TOUR PERFORMANCE DETAILS
1.
Friday, April 14, 2023 | 8 PM EDT
Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center
1941 Broadway, New York, NY 10023
This concert is supported by CTBC Bank, New York Branch and CTBC Bank Corp. (USA).
To purchase tickets ($50-120), call CenterCharge at 212-721-6500 or visit Lincoln Center's website here.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Trio in E-flat Major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 1, No. 1
André Caplet: Conte fantastique for Harp, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Quintet for Clarinet, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello in A major, K. 581
Dmitri Shostakovich: Prelude and Scherzo for String Octet, Op. 11
Members of the Taiwan Philharmonic & Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center:
Wu Han (吳菡), piano
Stella Chen (陳思蕾), violin
Danbi Um (嚴丹苾), violin
Richard Lin (林品任), violin
Hao-Tun Teng (鄧皓敦), violin
Chih-Hong Tseng (曾智弘), violin
Hsin-Yun Huang (黃心芸), viola
Grace Huang(黃瑞儀), viola
David Finckel, cello
Mihai Marica, cello
Ying-Chi Tang (唐鶯綺), cello
Julian Chun-Yen Lai (賴俊諺), clarinet
Shannon Shuen Chieh (解瑄), harp
2.
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 | 8 PM EDT
Presented by the Washington Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2700 F St NW, Washington, DC 20566
To purchase tickets ($30-110), call 202-785-9727 or visit The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Art's website here.
Ke-Chia Chen: Ebbs and Flows
Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46
Mendelssohn: The Hebrides Overture, Op. 26
Debussy: La Mer
Taiwan Philharmonic
Jun Märkl, conductor
Paul Huang, violin
3.
Friday, April 21, 2023 | 8 PM EDT
Presented by the New York Philharmonic
David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center
10 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023
This concert is supported by Charles Chen (陳致遠), the President of Chen-Yung Foundation (勇源基金會) and a board member of the New York Philharmonic.
To purchase tickets ($39-129), call 212-875-5656 or visit New York Philharmonic's website here.
Ke-Chia Chen: Ebbs and Flows
Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46
Mendelssohn: The Hebrides Overture, Op. 26
Debussy: La Mer
Taiwan Philharmonic
Jun Märkl, conductor
Paul Huang, violin
4.
Sunday April 23, 2023 | 3 PM CDT
Presented by Friends of Taiwan Foundation
Wentz Concert Hall
171 E Chicago Ave, Naperville, IL 60540
To purchase tickets ($38-120), call 630-637-7469 or visit North Central College's website here.
Yuan-Chen Li: Tao of Meinong
Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46
Mendelssohn: The Hebrides Overture, Op. 26
Debussy: La Mer
Taiwan Philharmonic
Jun Märkl, conductor
Paul Huang, violin
About the Taiwan Philharmonic
Founded in 1986, the Taiwan Philharmonic, also known as the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) at home, 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.
The orchestra has benefited from the leadership of many music directors and principal conductors, including Gerard Akoka, Urs Schneider, Da-Shen Chang, Jahja Ling, Wen-Pin Chien, Shao-Chia Lü and Guther Herbig. Under the leadership of music director Jun Märkl since January 2022, the Taiwan Philharmonic aspires to resonate throughout the world as the cultural ambassador of Taiwan.
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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About Jun Märkl
Jun Märkl is a highly respected interpreter of the core German repertoire and has become known for his refined and idiomatic explorations of the French Impressionists. He currently serves as Music Director of the Taiwan Philharmonic, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Residentie Orkest of The Hague. He has also recently been appointed Artistic Advisor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Oregon Symphony in the United States. His long-standing relationships with the state operas of Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Semperoper Dresden, and the Metropolitan Opera New York have been complemented by his music directorships of the Orchestre National de Lyon, the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Basque National Orchestra. In recognition of his achievements in France, he was honored in 2012 with the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Born in Munich, Märkl won the conducting competition of the Deutscher Musikrat in 1986 and studied at Tanglewood with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa. Soon afterwards, he appeared in opera houses throughout Europe, Japan, and U.S. followed by his first music directorships at the Staatstheater Saarbrücken and the Nationaltheater Mannheim.
About Paul Huang
Recipient of the prestigious 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2017 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, violinist Paul Huang is considered to be one of the most distinctive artists of his generation. The Washington Post proclaimed him as "an artist with the goods for a significant career" following his recital debut at the Kennedy Center. Mr. HUANG's recent and forthcoming appearances include Nürnberger Symphoniker with Kahchun Wong, Residentie Orkest Den Haag with Jun Märkl, Rotterdam Philharmonic with Lahav Shani, Dallas Symphony with Fabio Luisi, Mariinsky Orchestra with Gergiev, Houston Symphony with Andres Orozco-Estrada, Seoul Philharmonic with Markus Stenz, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan with Jun Märkl. In addition to his recital debuts at both Lucerne Festival and Aspen Music Festival, Paul also stepped in for Anne-Sophie Mutter at Bravo! Vail Music Festival with Chamber Orchestra Vienna-Berlin performing MOZART Violin Concerto No.4 to critical acclaim. Paul performs on the legendary 1742 Ex-Wieniawski Guarneri del Gesu, on extended loan from the Stradivari Society of Chicago.