Theater
Small Boat Fantasy — for Mona Lisa (小船幻想詩 — 為蒙娜麗莎而做) a play about how the mysterious woman in Da Vinci’s famous painting of the same name leaves the canvas where she has dwelt for 500 years and invites us to peer into the background of the picture. The play, the second installment in the 3x3 Concerto 2006 Eslite Theater Festival, which this year is mixing it up by combining Western and Chinese themes. This play, by Tai Chun-fang (戴君芳), uses the techniques of kunqu theater to explore the idea of the genius as a woman.
* At Eslite Bookstore, B2, 243 Dunhua S Rd Sec 1. (台北市敦化南路一段245號). Tickets are NT$400 and are available from NTCH outlets
* Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm and tomorrow at 2:30pm
Classical Music
Daniel Harding & Mahler Chamber Orchestra (哈丁與馬勒室內樂團) will present a concert at the National Concert Hall tonight. Together with the German pianist Lars Vogt, conductor Harding will lead a lineup of 51 brilliant musicians from 18 countries who make up the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, started by Claudio Abbado in 1997. In 1996, Harding earned the distinction of being the youngest person to conduct at the BBC Proms Festival and in 2003, Harding was appointed as the first Music Director of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. The program will include Mozart’s Symphony in F Major, K.43, Schumann’s Piano Concerto, and Brahms’ Symphony No.2.
* At the National Concert Hall, Taipei
* As of press time, NT$500 tickets are sold out, but seats are still available from NT$800 to NT$3,600 through NTCH ticketing
* Tonight at 7:30pm
The 2006 Taiwan International Choral Ensemble Festival (2006 台灣國際重唱藝術節) is now in its sixth year. This year’s festival provides an array of concerts by different ensembles and choral groups from around the world. The week-long festival, which is organized by the Taiwan Choral Music Center (台灣合唱音樂中心), will run from tomorrow to Oct. 6 in many cities around Taiwan, including Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung.
* Ticket information for the festival can be found at the Web site: www.tcmc.org.tw/festival/index.htm and online ticket sales are available through NTCH ticketing
Fazil Say Piano Recital (法佐塞依鋼琴獨奏會) organized by Musica Daphne (丹楓樂集室內樂團) will be held at the National Concert Hall on Oct. 2. Fazil Say is a regular guest with the New York Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic, the Orchestra National de France, and other leading orchestras across the globe. He is just as much a composer as he is a pianist. He has composed adaptations for piano and orchestra of such works as Mozart’s Rondo alla turca and Paganini Jazz. The newspaper Le Figaro wrote that “He is not merely a pianist of genius; undoubtedly he will be one of the great artists of the 21st century.” On his concert tour of Taiwan, he will play Mozart’s Ah! Vous Dirais-je, Maman, Piano Sonata, K.331, and Fantasy in D Minor, Bach-Busoni’s Chaconne, and Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata.
* At the National Concert Hall, Taipei
* Tickets cost from NT$500 to NT$2,000 and are available through NTCH ticketing
* Monday at 7:30pm
National Symphony Orchestra 20th Anniversary Series: Nordic Blaze (國家交響樂團20週年歡慶系列: 北國烈焰) will feature Russian violinist Vadim Repin and conductor Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬) and will be held at the National Concert Hall on Wednesday as part of the event celebrating the NSO’s 20th Anniversary. The concert will be on the theme of late composer Jean Sibelius’ works, most of which were taken mainly from national epics and folk tales. The program will include three of Sibelius’ works, Karelia Suite, Op.11, Symphony No.5, Op.82, and Violin Concerto, Op.47. A pre-concert lecture will be presided over by Hsing Tzu-ching (邢子菁) and held in the lobby of the National Concert Hall 30 minutes prior to the concert.
* At the National Concert Hall, Taipei
* Tickets range from NT$300 to NT$1,500 and are available through NTCH ticketing
* Wednesday at 7:30pm
Jacques Rouvier Piano Recital (雅克盧密葉鋼琴獨奏會) will be held at the National Concert Hall on Thursday. French pianist Rouvier studied with Vlado Perlemuter, Pierre Sancan, Jean Fassina, and Jean Hubeau and obtained first prize in Piano and Chamber Music from the Paris National Music Conservatory in 1965 and 1967. Rouvier is a profound and proficient musician and has won several international prizes. In 1970, he found the Rouvier-Kantorow-Muller Trio with which he regularly performs. The program will include Bach-Busoni’s Two Chorale Preludes: “Nun Komm, der Heiden Heiland” and “Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ”, Chopin’s Two Noctures, Op.27, Debussy’s Six Preludes, Ravel’s Sonatine and Mussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition.
* At the National Concert Hall, Taipei
* As of press time, NT$1,000 tickets are sold out, but NT$300, NT$500, and NT$1,200 seats are still available through NTCH ticketing
* Thursday at 7:30pm
Contemporary
The Wall (這牆) presents 13 (拾參) and 1976 tonight, Sodagreen (蘇打綠) tomorrow, Miss Stocking (絲襪小姐) and Sugar Plum Fairy (甜梅號) on Sunday, White Eyes (白目樂隊), Fire Extinguisher (滅火器) and 88 Guava Seeds (八十八顆芭樂籽) on Wednesday, Luo Si Rong (羅思容), I.R.I.S. and Totem (圖騰) on Thursday.
* Entrance for tonight is NT$400, tomorrow is NT$500 (discounts are available for multiple ticket purchases), Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday is NT$300
* All shows begin at 8pm
* B1, 200 Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路4段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or visit www.the-wall.com.tw
The Living Room (小客廳) presents English trio To A God Unknown and Telephone Booth tonight, The Scooters, touted as Taiwan’s only all-male, all-Western a capella do-wop singing group tomorrow, Curry and a Movie night on Tuesday with spicy fare from the Living Room chef and art house films, Big Egg Hell Dog (巨蛋地獄狗) and open jam on Wednesday and Get Lit. (實驗劇場), a multilingual gathering of “Art from the Heart” on Thursday.
* Tonight and Thursday at 10pm, tomorrow at 9:30pm, Tuesday at 7pm, Wednesday at 8:30pm
* Entrance for tonight is NT$400, tomorrow is NT$450, Wednesday is NT$300 (waived for jam musicians) and Thursday is NT$300
* 3F, 8 Nanjing E Rd Sec 5, Taipei (台北市南京東路5段8號3樓). Call (02) 8787-4154 or visit www.livingroomtaipei.com
Grooveyard presents CA$H with guests Nick and Pat playing a tribute to Johnny Cash tonight and BoPoMoFo tomorrow.
* Tonight and tomorrow’s shows begin at 10pm
* Entrance for tonight and tomorrow is NT$200
* 2F, 105 Huamei W Rd, Taichung (台中市華美西街105號二樓). Visit www.grooveyardtaiwan.com
Nuno’s Live House presents SEVEN tonight, Marikov, an Indie rock band from Japan, and Peppermint (薄荷葉) on Wednesday.
* Tomorrow and Wednesday’s shows begin at 8:30pm
* Entrance for tonight and Wednesday is NT$250
* Location: B1, 2, Dungyuan Lane, Alley 3, Chunggang Rd, Lungjiang Township,Taichung County (台中縣龍井鄉台中港路東園巷3弄2號B1). Call (04) 2652-9768 or visit www.nuno.idv.tw
(Please note: Some of the listed bands do not have English names, in which case the ‘Taipei Times’ has included a translation or transliteration.)
EXHIBITIONS
Taiwan Artist Today at MOCA 2006. Featuring multi-media works by four acclaimed local artists of different generations, the exhibition is intended to serve as a combined commentary to explore the century-old question of “how art conducts dialogue with the real world from a created space that is not reality.” The characteristic the invited artists have in common is their direct perceptions on the world and existence upon which each individual artistic utopia is built.
* Museum of Contemporary Art (台北當代藝術館), 39 Changan W Rd, Taipei (台北市長安西路39號)
* Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Call (02) 2552-3721
* Until Nov. 19
Strolling in Impressionism — Lee Cheng-lang’s Oil Painting Exhibition (印象漫步 — 李正郎油畫個展), featuring over 40 oil paintings of the artist’s impressionistic scenery and landscape. Born in a small village in Chiayi, Lee is famed for using saturated colors and the play between light and shadows to create poetic portraits of the land.
* Cathay United Art Center (國泰世華藝術中心), 7F, 236 Dunhua N Rd, Taipei (台北市敦化北路236號7樓)
* Open Monday to Saturday form 10am to 6pm. Call (02) 2717-0988
* From Saturday through Oct. 28
As is When: A Boom in British Printmaking, 1961-1972 (版藝盛代 — 60年代英國版畫精品展), featuring over 60 printmaking pieces selected from the British Council collection to introduce the art form in the UK during the 1960s when screen printing emerged as a fine art medium. Along with screen prints, the exhibition presents etchings and lithographs by many major practitioners of the time, including Eduardo Paolozzi, David Hockney, Patrick Caulfiel and Richard Hamilton.
* National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (國立台灣美術館), 2 Wuchuan W Rd Sec 1, Taichung (台中市五權西路一段2號)
* Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Call (04) 2372-3552
* Until Nov. 12
Golden Light Puppetry Exhibition (金光閃閃會英雄 — 台灣金光布袋戲空前大展). Teaming up with local puppet theater groups, the unprecedented large-scale exhibition features 300 hand-puppets of Taiwan Golden Light Puppetry (金光布袋戲) and 200 items ranging from puppet costumes, weapons, and props to scripts and texts from 1940s to 1970s. A series of workshops and performances will also be held during the exhibition. For more information, visit www.pact.org.tw
* Puppetry Art Center of Taipei (台北偶戲館), 99 Civic Blvd Sec 5, Taipei (台北市市民大道五段99號)
* Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Call (02) 2528-7955
* From Saturday through Jan. 14
The Light and Reflections of Glass — An Exhibition on the Glass Bead Creations of Xu Jin-lang (珠光琉影 — 許金烺琉璃珠創作展). Ever since the Japanese established the Taiwan Glass Beads Company in Hsinchu, the city has been a local hub for glass industry. A glass bead master from the city, Xu has risen to international fame with his continuous effort to lift the craft to become part of the glass art.
* National Museum of History (國立歷史博物館), 49 Nanhai Rd, Taipei (台北市南海路49號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm
* Call (02) 2361-0270
* Until Oct. 22
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
Approaching her mid-30s, Xiong Yidan reckons that most of her friends are on to their second or even third babies. But Xiong has more than a dozen. There is Lucky, the street dog from Bangkok who jumped into a taxi with her and never left. There is Sophie and Ben, sibling geese, who honk from morning to night. Boop and Pan, both goats, are romantically involved. Dumpling the hedgehog enjoys a belly rub from time to time. The list goes on. Xiong nurtures her brood from her 8,000 square meter farm in Chiang Dao, a mountainous district in northern Thailand’s
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist