This year is the 57th anniversary of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (NTSO) and they have received a very special present: namely, the completion of the NTSO Recital Hall, located in Taichung, which is likely to become one of the foremost musical venues in Central Taiwan. According to Chiang Ching-po (江靖波), a guest conductor with the NTSO, the venue has acoustics that are possibly superior to those of the National Concert Hall in Taipei. The NTSO already in rehearsal, and Chiang said everyone is looking forward to seeing what the acoustics will sound like with a fully occupied auditorium.
The NTSO Recital Hall, with a seating capacity of around 600, will serve as the home of the NTSO. "But naturally, when things settle down, it is very likely we will begin sharing this resource with other groups," said Su Chung (蘇忠), the orchestra's director. The hall will begin its life with a series of concerts starting tonight. To highlight the venue's role as a cultural center for the region, the opening festivities will by no means be restricted to performances of classical music.
The main event will be a program featuring Shostakovich's Festive Overture Op. 96, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite on Sunday at 10:30am. This performance will feature Chiang Ching-po, who has just recently received third place in the prestigious Georg Solti Award at the 1st International Conductor's Competition in Frankfurt, Germany, and Chang Chiao-ying (
"This is an affirmation of Taiwan's achievements in music," said Tchen Yu-chiou, chairwoman of the Council for Cultural Affairs. "They have won major awards at the highest levels of international competitions."
The music for the celebration concert was partly selected for its technical difficulty, thus allowing the orchestra, the conductor and the soloist ample chance to display their virtuosity.
In addition to these highlights of classical music, a number of school orchestras and bands will perform both inside the recital hall and in the plaza outside. The best known of these secondary acts is Labor Exchange, the Hakka protest band that has become one of Taiwan's biggest folk music exports. They will perform in an outdoor concert between 5:30pm and 7pm on Saturday. Getting the celebrations off to a good start tonight, the Aboriginal band Red Sugar Cane Workshop will hold a concert outside the venue at 5:30pm.
The recital hall will also be serving as an exhibition for a wide range of visual arts, with the CCA having invited artists working in glass, ceramics, sculpture and painting to show their work over the weekend.
The NTSO Recital hall is located at 738-2 Chungcheng Rd., Wufeng, Taichung (
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