Theater
Photosynthesis – The Production of Light and Limbs (光合作用:燈光肢體劇作) will be performed by Static Theater (靜力劇場) and uses light to examine the movement of limbs as a means of opening up a new theater experience. The performance gives the audience an unconventional view of the body as a means of reaching one's inner being.
* Huashan Culture Park Maintenance Workshop (華山文化園區中7館) at 1 Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市八德路一段1號)
* Tickets are NT$350 and can be purchased by calling (02) 2733-3746 or by email at chen3030@yahoo.com.tw
* Today, tomorrow and Sunday at 7:30pm
Paris-Baghdad Acoustics (巴格達之聲) features acoustic music from gifted musician Fawzy al-Aiedy.
* Daan Forest Park, Taipei
* Admission is free
* Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm
Not for Exhibition purposes (非關展覽) by Choy Ka Fai of KYTV, is a multimedia extravaganza that investigates the multiple realities underlying various media. Most of the material will be a reworking of earlier performances.
* Guling St Theater (牯嶺街小劇場), 2, Ln 5, Guling St, Taipei (台北市牯嶺街五巷二號)
* Tickets are NT$150 and can be purchased through NTCH ticketing
* Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
Song of Pipa Player and The Song of Burying Flowers (琵琶行、葬花吟) with Wang Sing Sing (王心心) will perform some traditional nanguan with famed guqin player Yu Li-yu (游麗玉).
* Taipei Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yenping S Rd, Taipei (台北市延平南路98號)
* Tickets are NT$800 and can be purchased through NTCH ticketing
* Tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
Classical Music
National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Master Chamber Concerts: Clarinetist Ricardo Morales and Bassoonist Daniel Matsukawa of the Philadelphia Orchestra (名家室內樂: 費城木管名家 -- 黎卡多.摩瑞斯丹尼爾.松川). In woodwind music, there are very few solo pieces written for the bassoon, and even fewer for duet for bassoon and clarinet. For this reason, the first concert in the NSO's 2006/2007 Master Chamber Concert promises to be a real treat for woodwind music fans. It will feature Morales and Matsukawa, principal clarinetist and bassoonist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, playing a duet by Beethoven, while Maestro Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬) will join them on the piano in works by Mendelssohn and Elgar. The program will include Mendelssohn's No. 1, Op.113 and No.2, Op.114 of Concert Pieces for Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano, Elgar's Romance for Bassoon and Piano, Op.62, Beethoven's Duet for Clarinet and Bassoon, No.3, and Glinka's Trio “Pathetique” for Clarinet, Bassoon, and Piano.
* At the National Recital Hall, Taipei
* Tickets are NT$400 to NT$500 through NTCH ticketing.
* Oct. 21 at 7:30pm
Taiwan Wind Ensemble Concert (台灣管樂團音樂會) will be held in Taichung, Tainan, and Taipei starting tomorrow. Chung Yao-kuang (鍾耀光) will be the conductor as well as the composer of the concert program. Also, the concert will feature clarinetist Lai Yi-jui (賴怡叡), sopranos Ho Kung-ting (何康婷) and Lin Chin-ru (林錦如), and baritone Hsu Te-tsung (許德崇). Taiwan Wind Ensemble will present Chung's works including Advance Your Flight Fanfare and March for Symphonic Band (展翅上騰), Four Studies on Themes of Pablo Picasso (四首畢卡索名畫練習曲), Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble (豎笛協奏曲), Festive Celebration (節慶), Symphony No. 1 for Wind Orchestra: 1st Movement “Fresno” and 2nd Movement “Mountain Ritual Dances” (第一交響曲第一樂章壁畫與第二樂章祭舞), Taiwanese Folksong Medley (台灣民謠組曲).
* Tomorrow at the Taichung Chungshan Hall (台中市中山堂), 98 Hsuehshi Rd, Taichung City (台中市學士路98號), Oct. 28 at the National Cheng Kung University’s Cheng Kung Hall (台南成功大學成功廳), 1, Tahsueh Rd, Tainan City (台南市大學路1號), and Oct. 30 at the National Concert Hall, Taipei.
* Tickets are from NT$200 to NT$300 for Taichung and Tainan concerts and from NT$250 to NT$500 for Taipei concert through NTCH ticketing.
* Oct. 21, 28, and 30 at 7:30pm
National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Richard Strauss Cycle I: Hero's Fanfare (國家交響樂團發現理查.史特勞斯系列一: 英雄的信號). This will be the opening matinee concert of Richard Strauss Cycle beginning with Strauss's glorious Fanfare for Vienna Philharmonic. As part of the 20th anniversary celebration, NSO commissions composer Pan Hwang-long (潘皇龍), a renowned native composer and winner of National Arts Award in 1992, to write Heterophony Concerto for Orchestra for NSO. Pan uses beiguan, guzheng, and suona horn to create an appealing fusion of eastern and western musical style. In addition, Ricardo Morales and Daniel Matsukawa, the woodwind principal players of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will team up to perform Richard Strauss' Duett-Concertino. Other works will include Weber's solo clarinet and bassoon works and Strauss' Salomes Tanz, which will make a perfect ending to this milestone birthday concert. A pre-concert talk will be held in the lobby of the National Concert Hall 30 minutes prior to the concert.
* At the National Concert Hall, Taipei
* Tickets cost NT$500 to NT$1,500 through NTCH ticketing.
* Sunday at 2:30pm
Jien Sho-yu Cello Concerto (簡琇瑜大提琴獨奏會). Jien, a graduate of the Juilliard School, has been the principal cellist at the Taipei Symphony Orchestra since 1990. Joined by pianist Liao Chiao-han (廖皎含), Jien will play a program of works including Beethoven's Sonata No.2, Op.5 and Sonata No.2, Op.105, and Shostakovich's Sonata, Op.40.
* At the National Recital Hall, Taipei
* Tickets cost NT$400 to NT$600 and are available through NTCH ticketing.
* Oct. 25 at 7:30pm
German Trio Achat Concert Tour (琴定布萊梅--艾哈特三重奏). Three professors from the Bremen Music Academy in Germany, violinist Reinhold Heise, cellist Ulf Schade, and pianist Tseng I-fei (曾一菲) founded Trio Achat in 2002. The three musicians will perform the works of Franz Schubert, Claude Debussy, Mozart, and Dmitri Shostakovich. The trio will tour Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Changhua, Hsinchu, Taipei, and Ilan starting Oct. 25 for nine concerts.
* Oct. 25 at the National Taichung Library Chunghsing Concert Hall (台中中興堂), 291-3, Jingwu Rd, Taichung City (台中市精武路219之3號), Oct. 26 at the Tainan County Cultural Center (台南縣立文化中心), 23, Jhongjheng Rd, Sinying City, Tainan County (台南縣新營市中正路23號), Oct. 27 at the Fangshan Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (高雄鳳山國父紀念館), 228, Kuangyuan Rd, Fangshan City, Kaohsiung County (高雄縣鳳山市光遠路228號), Oct. 28 at the Changhua Recreational Center (彰化介壽生活藝文館), 259, Minsheng Rd, Changhua City ( 彰化市民生路259號), Oct. 30 at the Tunghai University Fanghua Hall (東海大學芳華廳), 181, Taichung Port Rd, Taichung City (台中市台中港路三段181號),Oct. 31 at the International Conference Hall at Chung Hua University (中華大學國際會議廳), 707, Sec 2 Wufu Rd, Hsinchu City (新竹市五福路二段707號 ), Nov. 1 at the Audiovisual Theater on the 3rd floor of the Arts and Culture Center at National Chengchi University (政大藝文中心), 64, Sec 2 Zhinan Rd, Taipei (台北市文山區指南路二段64號), Nov. 2 at the Yilan Performing Arts Center, Ilan County Cultural Affairs Bureau (宜蘭縣文化局演藝廳), 482, Zhongshan Rd, Ilan City (宜蘭市中山路二段482號), and Nov. 4 at the National Taiwan Arts Education Center (國立台灣藝術教育館), 47, Nanhai Rd, Taipei (台北市南海路47號).
* Most concerts are free admission but obtaining free tickets in advance will be required in some concerts. Tickets cost from NT$200 to NT$500 for the Taichung concert and NT$200 for Ilan concert through ERA ticketing.
* All concerts will begin at 7:30pm except the concert at National Chengchi University, which will start at 7pm.
Contemporary
The Wall (這牆) presents Backquarter (四分衛), Taiwan's veteran rock band tonight and Sodagreen's Climb the Wall concert tomorrow.
* Tonight 8pm, tomorrow 10pm
* Tickets NT$400 tonight and NT$500 tomorrow
* B1, 200 Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or visit www.the-wall.com.tw
The Living Room presents Lily C and the Sound Clashes, pumping brass section and pulsating ska rhythms to get everybody dancing tonight. Minstral & Sky Burial tomorrow.
* Tonight and tomorrow at 9:30pm
* Minimum charge NT$300 with additional donation of NT$100.
* 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
Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) presents Delta on the Main Street tonight, Aida tomorrow and Joker and Unsafe Sunday.
* All shows begin at 9:30pm
* Entrance for tonight and tomorrow is NT$350, Sunday NT$300
* B1, 2, Ln 244 Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號B1). Call (02) 2368 7310 or visit www.riverside.com.tw
Exhibitions
Yingge International Ceramics Carnival 2006 (2006鶯歌國際陶瓷嘉年華), an annual event features special exhibitions, do-it-yourself workshops, demonstrations on firing pottery, weekend art fairs, street performances, tours of cultural and historical sites and a lot more. The event offers visitors three weeks of exploration of Taiwan's home to ceramics culture and the beauty of ceramics art.
* Taipei CountyYingge Ceramics Museum (台北縣鶯歌陶瓷搏物館), 200 Wenhua Rd, Yingge Township, Taipei County (台北縣鶯歌鎮文化路200號). Open Tuesday to Friday from 9:30am to 5pm Tuesday to Friday; Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 to 6pm. Call (02) 8677 2727.
*Until Oct. 29
Everything Will Fall into Ruin - Yao Jui-chugn Solo Exhibition (所有一切都將成為未來的廢墟-姚瑞中個展), featuring 327 pieces of black and white photographs the artist has taken in various ruins around Taiwan from 1990 to 2006, the exhibition presents a ritual space for visitors to look back into the past on which the present is built through Yao's poetic reflections on collective memory and culture.
* Taipei Fine Arts Museum (台北市立美術館) at 181, Changshan N Rd, Sec 3, Taipei (台北市中山北路三段181號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30am to 5:30pm. Call (02) 2595 7656.
*Until Nov. 19
Forum for Creativity in Art: Systems Inside Constructions (創作論壇-打開-當代:築體場境), featuring multi-media works by nine contemporary artists, aims to explore the relationships between human body and architecture and illuminate our special, psychological and intellectual connections with buildings that are like systems inside our bodies.
* Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts (高雄市立美術館), 20 Meishuguan Rd, Gushan District, Kaohsiung. (高雄市鼓山區美術館路20號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Call (07) 555 0331.
*Until Dec. 17
<^o^/ SIGHT-Artist Expo 2006 (2006藝術家博覽會). Entering its fifth year, the expo invites over 150 artists to present kaleidoscopic art works of sculptures, oil and ink paintings, installation pieces, video and digital arts to conceptual and performance arts. The title of the event refers to the influences of the dot.com era and the new artistic vocabulary inspired by new technologies and media.
* Hua Shan Cultural Park (華山文化園區), 1, Bade Rd, Sec 1, Taipei (台北市八德路一段1號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Call (02) 2392 6180.
*Until Oct. 29
Tracing Reality - Li Hsiao-ching's Image Theater (描摹現實-李小鏡的影像劇場). Tracing back to the artist's image trilogy from 1994 to 1996, the exhibition features works from Li's three series of 108 Windows, Judgment and Fate. While the first series focuses on the close-ups of human faces, the second expands to human figures put against an impersonal milieu. The third reeks of hunting mystery in human absurdity.
*Home Gallery (家畫廊), 30-1 Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市中山北路三段30-1號). Open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm. Call (02) 2591 4302.
* Until Nov. 2
Last week Joseph Nye, the well-known China scholar, wrote on the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s website about how war over Taiwan might be averted. He noted that years ago he was on a team that met with then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), “whose previous ‘unofficial’ visit to the US had caused a crisis in which China fired missiles into the sea and the US deployed carriers off the coast of Taiwan.” Yes, that’s right, mighty Chen caused that crisis all by himself. Neither the US nor the People’s Republic of China (PRC) exercised any agency. Nye then nostalgically invoked the comical specter
Relations between Taiwan and the Czech Republic have flourished in recent years. However, not everyone is pleased about the growing friendship between the two countries. Last month, an incident involving a Chinese diplomat tailing the car of vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) in Prague, drew public attention to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) operations to undermine Taiwan overseas. The trip was not Hsiao’s first visit to the Central European country. It was meant to be low-key, a chance to meet with local academics and politicians, until her police escort noticed a car was tailing her through the Czech capital. The
April 15 to April 21 Yang Kui (楊逵) was horrified as he drove past trucks, oxcarts and trolleys loaded with coffins on his way to Tuntzechiao (屯子腳), which he heard had been completely destroyed. The friend he came to check on was safe, but most residents were suffering in the town hit the hardest by the 7.1-magnitude Hsinchu-Taichung Earthquake on April 21, 1935. It remains the deadliest in Taiwan’s recorded history, claiming around 3,300 lives and injuring nearly 12,000. The disaster completely flattened roughly 18,000 houses and damaged countless more. The social activist and
Over the course of former President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) 11-day trip to China that included a meeting with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping (習近平) a surprising number of people commented that the former president was now “irrelevant.” Upon reflection, it became apparent that these comments were coming from pro-Taiwan, pan-green supporters and they were expressing what they hoped was the case, rather than the reality. Ma’s ideology is so pro-China (read: deep blue) and controversial that many in his own Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) hope he retires quickly, or at least refrains from speaking on some subjects. Regardless