On the positive side, Lim said that in comparison with China "the standard of Taiwan's orchestras and its audience is higher. It has a lot to do with hsiu yang [a Chinese word that might be loosely translated as breeding] and also in part also due to a democracy of life. This too is also important. Technique is not enough without hsiu yang -- but if you cannot play in tune, if you don't have the technique, then you don't have music at all."
The orchestra has now been brought up from its chamber size of 20 members to a current membership of 50. "The aim is to get 75 members. Ultimately maybe 100. But it is very difficult to find candidates of the right quality," Lim said.
The program tonight will feature Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, for which Lim is particularly associated, and will open with the overture to Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmilla, Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol and a selection of Taiwanese folk songs.
Performance notes:
Evergreen Symphony Orchestra's Inaugural concert will take place at 7:30pm at the National Concert Hall. Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,200 and are available through ERA ticketing outlets.
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