Theater
Light and Shadow's Journey — Sun Wukong vs. Spider Monster is the result of a three-year collaboration between shadow play master Larry Reed and The Puppet and Its Double Theater (無獨有偶工作室劇團). Combining Western and Eastern theater styles, the work blends real actors and puppets, creating movie-like special effects such as floating clouds, natural scenery and intricate buildings.
* National Taiwan Arts Education Institute (國立台灣藝術教育館), 47 Nanhai Rd, Taipei (台北市南海路47號)
* Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
* Tickets are NT$300 to NT$1,000 and are available through NTCH ticketing
Forever Tango is an evening of tango music and dance that recalls the early home of tango in the brothels of Buenos Aires, where women dressed in sexy attire and men were suited in gangster mode.
* National Theater (國家戲劇院), Taipei and Kaohsiung Cultural Center's Chih-teh Hall (高雄市立文化中心至德堂), 67 Wufu 1st Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市五福一路67號)
* Taipei performances are today tomorrow, and Sunday at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm; Kaohsiung performances are Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30pm
* Tickets for Taipei performances are NT$500 to NT$4,200; Kaohsiung performances are NT$500 to NT$3,000. All tickets are available through NTCH ticketing
Those Men in Her Life (人間條件二 — 她與她生命中男人們). Green Ray Theater Company (綠光劇團) uses the 228 Incident as the backdrop to tell the story of two women who hide three fugitives on the run from the authorities. Written and directed by Wu Nien-jen (吳念真), the performance spans 50 years of Taiwan's history and investigates what it means to be Taiwanese by raising questions about identity, values and culture.
* Metropolitan Hall (城市舞台), 25 Bade Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市八德路3段25號)
* Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm; tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
* Tickets are NT$500 to NT$1,800 and are available through ERA ticketing
Classical
A Night of the Beauty of Strings — Tainan Soloists Concert Debut (弦美之夜 — 台南獨奏家創團音樂會). The group is set to make a series of three debut concerts in Kaohsiung, Tainan and Taipei beginning tonight featuring guest violinist Su Shien-ta (蘇顯達), a France-based Taiwanese violinist. The newly founded group is composed of Tainan-based elite string instrumentalists, and its founding goal is to promote the appreciation of string music in Taiwan. The program will include Teddy Bor's Mcmozart's Eine Kleine Bricht Moonlicht Nicht Musik and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in D Minor for Solo Violin and String Orchestra and Octet for strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20.
* Tonight at the Chih-shan Hall, National CKS Cultural Center, Kaohsiung City (高雄中正文化中心至善廳), 67 Wufu 1st Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市五福一路67號), tomorrow at National Tainan University Recital Hall (台南大學雅音樓), 33 Shulin St Sec 2, Tainan City (台南市樹林街二段33號) and Sunday at the National Recital Hall, Taipei
* Tickets cost from NT$200 to NT$300 and are available through ERA ticketing
* Tonight at 7:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
Qian Zhou Violin Recital (錢舟小提琴獨奏會). In 1987, 18-year-old Qian introduced herself to the world of music with a brilliant triumph at the Marguerite Long/Jacques Thibaud Competition in Paris, one of the four major international events of the kind. She broke the records of all the precedents in the competition's fifty-year history by winning not only the First Grand Prize, but also the Best Mozart, the Recital, and the Virtuoso Prizes, as well as the International Artist and Audience Prizes. She was the youngest Long/Thibaud winner ever, and her victory drew worldwide attention. Joined by pianist Albert Tiu, a graduate of the Juilliard School where he studied with Jerome Lowenthal, Qian will present Leclair's Violin Sonata in D Major, Op.9, No.3, Brahms' Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, Op.100, Kreisler's transcription of Falla's Spanish Dance, Glazunov's Meditation, Tchaikovsky's Serenade Melancolique, Op.26, Drigo's Valse Blunette, Wieniawski's Capriccio-Valse, Op.7, and Chen Gan's (陳鋼) Sunshine Over Tashkugan (陽光照耀著塔什庫爾干). During a tour of Taiwan, Qian and Tiu will also give master classes. For more information, visit the website at www.newartinc.com or call (02) 8773-2898.
* Tonight at the Hsinchu Municipal Auditorium (新竹市文化局立演藝廳), 17 Tungta Rd Sec 2, Hsinchu City (新竹市東大路二段17號), tomorrow at the National Concert Hall, Taipei, and Sunday at the Taichung Chungshan Hall (台中市中山堂), 98 Hsuehshi Rd, Taichung City (台中市學士路98號)
* Tickets for the Taipei concert cost from NT$500 to NT$1,500 and for the rest of the concerts, tickets cost from NT$300 to NT$1,000 through ERA ticketing
* Tonight, tomorrow, and March 11 at 7:30pm
Homeland Famous Music for the Family (故鄉名曲精華音樂會親子共賞首選). From "The Mill in the Black Forest" to "Longing for the Spring Breeze," Homeland Chamber Ensemble (故鄉室內樂團) will present a series of lecture-concerts tonight through March 25. The lecture concerts will be presided over by Chen I-lin (陳宜琳) in the Taipei concert and Du Shu-feng (杜淑芳) in the Taichung concerts. Featuring violinists Chang Shih-peng (張士芃), Du, Chan Ching-ching (詹青青), violist Chen Chih-yuan (陳麒元), cellist Lien Yi-Shien (連亦先), and pianist Liao Chiao-han (廖皎含), the concert will include a program of quintet, quartet, trio, and solo works, including Eilenberg's The Mill in the Black Forest, Mozart's Turkish March, Oesten's Dolly's Dreaming & Awakening, Famous Taiwanese Music Longing for the Spring Breeze (望春風), Amazing Grace, Schubert's Piano Trio Wiegenlied, Medelssohn's Song of Spring, Chopin's Nocturne Op.9-2, the first movement of fBeethoven's Violin Sonata No.5 in F major, Op.24 "Spring", Bridge's Pieces for Viola, the third movement of Davidov's Cello concerto No.2, the first movement (Allegro amabile) of Brahms's Violin Sonata No.2 Op.100, and Falla's Danse Espagnole.
* Tomorrow at the Yuanlin Performance Hall, Changhua County(員林演藝廳), 99 Ln 2, Chungcheng Rd, Yuanlin Township, Changhua County. (彰化縣員林鎮中正路二巷99號) and March 25 at the Taichung County Seaport Art Center (台中縣立港區藝術中心), 21 Chungchen Rd, Chingshui Township, Taichung County (台中縣清水鎮忠貞路21號)
* For the Changhua concert tomorrow, NT$200 to NT$500 tickets are still available. For the Taichung concert on March 25, tickets range from NT$200 to NT$800. See www.artsticket.com.tw for details
* Tomorrow and March 25 at 2:30pm
Norwegian Pianist Gunilla Sussmann and Taipei Symphony Orchestra (北歐鋼琴玉女蘇絲曼與台北市立交響樂團). Sussmann, one of Norway's leading young pianists, was born in 1977 in Bergen, Norway, and started to play the piano at the age of six. She has won the 1st prize twice in the National Piano Competition for Youth in Norway in 1987 and 1995, and in 1996 she was finalist in the EBU-competition in Lisbon, Portugal. September 2000 she won 3rd prize in Concours Grieg, and received the special prize for best Grieg interpretation. Joined by the TSO, under the direction of renowned conductor Andras Ligeti, Sussmann will present a program of works, including Richard Strauss' Waltz from "Der Rosenkavalier and Death and Apotheoosis, Op.24, Beethoven's Piano Concerto in G Major, No.4, Op.58, and Mahler's Symphony No.5 in C-sharp Minor-Adagetto.
* At the National Concert Hall, Taipei
* Tickets range from NT$200 to NT$800 and are available through NTCH ticketing
* Sunday at 2:30pm
Debut! — Kim Kashkashian Viola Concerts (首度來台!—卡許卡湘中提琴演奏會). Kashkashian is a trailblazer through her work with contemporary composers and has substantially expanded the relatively small viola repertoire. The two concerts will consist of two different programs. The Taipei program will include Clarke's Sonata for Viola and Piano, Beethoven's 7 variations for Violoncello from Mozart's "Magic Flute", Takemitsu's "A Bird Came Down the Walk" for Viola and Piano, based on Emily Dickinson, and Brahms' Sonata for Viola and Piano in E-Flat Major, Op. 120 Nr. 2. In the Hsinchu concert on Thursday, she will be joined by prominent conductor Po-Po Chiang (江靖波) and the Philharmonia Moment Musical (樂興之時管絃樂團), and the program will include Mozart's Piano Concerto No.25 in C Major, K.503 featuring pianist Levin and Bartok's Viola Concerto featuring Kashkashian.
* Wednesday at the National Concert Hall, Taipei and Thursday at the Hsinchu Municipal Auditorium (新竹市立演藝廳), 17 Tungta Rd Sec 2, Hsinchu City (新竹市東大路二段17號)
* Seats for the Taipei concert are available from NT$700 to NT$2,000. For the Hsinchu concert, tickets cost from NT$300 to NT$1,500 through ERA ticketing
* Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm
Contemporary
Tonight The Wall (這牆) presents I Don't Know Who Was Born in 1982 (一九八二—小樹新書演唱會), a concert celebrating the release of respected gay music critic Tree Junior's (小樹) new book, 1982: 21st Century Homophobic Boy, with indie band Tizzy Bac and musicians Deserts Chang (張懸), Golden Horse award-winning composer George Chen (陳建騏), 1976 frontman and songwriter Raykai Chen (陳瑞凱), Echo lead singer Wu Po-chang (吳柏蒼), and Soda Green (蘇打綠) lead singer Wu Ching-feng (青峰). Tomorrow it's garage/punk band Full House and emo-punk band Hindsight (光景消逝), followed by The O-Brothaz, "Taipei's biggest reggae, dancehall session," with dancehall, classic reggae and the latest hip-hop and dancehall remixes. Sunday it's indie-pop band Joker, Pan Er (潘兒) and the electronic melodic metal sound of Crystal Dancer (舞璃). On Tuesday, 1976's Raykai Chen teams up with indie-pop band 13 (拾參). And on Wednesday it's post-rock bands Big Egg Hell Dog (巨蛋地獄狗), expat To a God Unkown, and Orange Grass (橙草).
* Entrance tonight is NT$400. Tomorrow is NT$400 for the bands and NT$350 for the sound system. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday is NT$300
* Bands take the stage at 8pm. The O-Brothaz start at 11:30pm
* 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
Returning to Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) tonight are regulars R.A.Y. Band, three of Taipei's most accomplished session musicians who cover songs by groups like Deep Purple, Bad Company, The Beatles and Reo Speed Wagon. Tomorrow it's the Brit-pop sound of 1976. This Sunday, and the second Sunday of every month, it's Genesis, "a night of soul-stirring open-mic" for "artists of every medium and language," from spoken word, poetry and rap to songs, acoustics and comedy. West Indian/Caribbean food will be served courtesy of A Taste of the Caribbean. Monday night it's open-jam night, when anyone with a song or an instrument can perform. On Tuesday, fusion combo They're Lisa (他們是力殺) and indie band Elisa (一粒沙), Wednesday it's indie-pop bands Unsafe and La Petite Nurse (小護士), and on Thursday it's Amita (阿密特), featuring Fred Liu (呂聖斐) and E. Wilson on keyboards, bassist Brian Chiu (邱培榮), drummer Shau Bai (李守信), guitarist Jeff Yen (嚴和邦), and an unannounced "super-secret guest."
* The music starts at 9:30pm each night. Second bands take the stage at 10:30pm
* Entrance tonight and tomorrow is NT$350. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday is NT$300. On Monday there is a one-drink minimum. Thursday is NT$400
* 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
The Living Room (小客廳) presents Rebirth (再生), a new band that plays "fast-paced emo meets pop punk," and The Martin Acoustic Jazz Trio With Gino Giles tonight. Tomorrow it's Minstral (遊歌者), expats who blend rock, pop, funk and Tibetan chanting. Tuesday it's the acoustic sound of Little Lamb Sisters (小羊妹妹), and on Thursday it's "raucous unplugged acoustic" courtesy of Mos.
* Tonight's performances begin at 9pm, tomorrow and Thursday's start at 10pm. Tuesday's music starts at 8pm
* Entrance is NT$300
* 3F, 8 Nanjing E Rd Sec 5, Taipei (台北市南京東路五段8號3樓). Call (02) 8787-4154 or visit www.livingroomtaipei.com
Tomorrow Velvet Underground (地下絲絨) features it's Flip 18, Milk Bottle (牛奶罐), Hysteria (歇斯底里) and Sky Burial (天葬), Tuesday it's Rabbit Is Rich and Thursday it's Vanilla Latte (香草拿鐵).
* Bands take the stage at 5pm tomorrow, 9pm Tuesday and 10pm Thursday
* Admission is NT$300 or NT$250 for students
* B1, 50 Zhongxiao W Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市忠孝西路一段50號B1). Call (02) 2314-1868 or visit www.velvet-underground.com.tw
Underworld (地下社會) presents Echo (回聲) tonight, We Save Strawberries (草莓救星) and Tube (地下鐵) tomorrow, and DJ Zephec with pouty electronica songstress Kolette on Wednesday.
* The bar opens at 8pm and bands take the stage at 9pm
* Entrance is NT$300
* 45 Shida Rd, Taipei (台北市師大路45號B1). Call (02) 2369-0103 or visit www.underworld-taipei.blogspot.com for more information
In Taichung, Grooveyard presents expat Irish alt-rock band The Idiots tonight and acoustic rock trio Black Lung Inner City Choir tomorrow. At the newly opened Groovecity, "soulful originals, groovy covers" from Pang Mama tomorrow and house jazz combo 'Round Midnight on Sunday.
* The music starts at 9pm
* Grooveyard entrance is NT$100 tonight and NT$200 tomorrow. Groovecity entrance is NT$300
* Groovecity is inside Tiger City (台中老虎城旁停車場) at 120 Henan Rd Sec 3, Taichung (台中市河南路三段120號老虎城). Grooveyard is located at 2F, 105 Huamei W Rd, Taichung (台中市華美西街105號2樓). Visit www.grooveyardtaiwan.com or call 0939-574-737 for more information
Exhibitions
A Sparkling Life —The First Solo Exhibition of a Non-Painter (燦爛人生一個非畫家的首次油畫展), an exhibition of oil paintings by Chen Leng (陳冷). A professional writer, Chen is a self-taught painter who, inspired by the impressionists, has used her skills to celebrate the many ordinary sights that have made up her "sparkling life."
* At the National Cultural Association (國家文化總會), 15 Chongqing S Rd Sec 2, Taipei (台北市重慶南路二段15號), call (02) 2396-4256
* Until March 23
Mother Land — Family Story Series III by Lin Chuan-chu (母土—林銓居「家族故事」作品展之三). The final chapter of artist Lin's family story project launched in 2002, the exhibition takes an interdisciplinary approach to deliver a coherent theme inspired from his upbringing through imagery, performance, painting and installation works. In the hands of a farmer's son, the daily labor and rituals of peasants are translated into more complex, multi-textual and universal metaphors.
* Taipei National University of the Arts — Guandu Arts Museum (台北藝術大學關渡美術館), 1 Hsuenyuan Rd, Peitou, Taipei (台北市北投區學園路1號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Call (02) 2893-8871
* Until March 25
Tea House — Photo Exhibition by Chen Jin (茶舖—中國攝影家陳錦攝影展). In his elegant black and white photographs, award-winning Chinese photographer Chen captures the disappearing culture of the tea house. A social club, a trading point and a stage for folk artists, tea houses in towns and villages across China present the plebeian culture in its richest and most vital form.
* Taiwan International Visual Arts Center (台灣國際視覺藝術中心), 29, Ln 45, Liaoning St, Taipei (台北市遼寧街45巷29號). Open Tuesday to Friday from 11am to 7pm; Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Call (02) 2773-3347.
* Until March 28
Mag Days (雜誌時光). A joint exhibition by local young artists features handmade publications and playful sketches to transform the notion of magazines into a lifestyle concept.
* Salt Peanuts, 23, Ln 60, Taishun St, Taipei (台北市泰順街60巷23號). Open Monday to Sunday from 12pm to 12am. Call (02) 2368 1019.
* Until March 15
A Peaceful World (大同世界—2007周偉個展), a solo exhibition by France-educated Chou Wei that aims to unearth the infinite beauty beneath the conflicting cultures and the estrangement of otherness in the changing world.
* Shin Leh Yuan Art Space (新樂園藝術空間), 15-2, Ln 11, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 2, Taipei (中山北路二段11巷15-2號). Open Wednesday to Sunday from 1pm to 8pm. Call (02) 2561-1548
* Until March 25
The Sky Over Taipei — Knowledge Versus Imagination (台北的天空—陳作琪個展). A solo exhibition by Chen Tzo-chi consists of paintings, wood carvings and mixed media works. Having lived and worked in Germany for a long time, the artist mixes traditional Taiwanese arts with elements of Germany's culture to address issues such as identity, peace, ecology and faith.
* German Cultural Center Taipei (台北德國文化中心), 12F, 20, Hoping W Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市和平西路一段20號12樓). Open Monday to Friday from 10am to 8pm. Call (02) 2365-7294
* Until March 23
In the mainstream view, the Philippines should be worried that a conflict over Taiwan between the superpowers will drag in Manila. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr observed in an interview in The Wall Street Journal last year, “I learned an African saying: When elephants fight, the only one that loses is the grass. We are the grass in this situation. We don’t want to get trampled.” Such sentiments are widespread. Few seem to have imagined the opposite: that a gray zone incursion of People’s Republic of China (PRC) ships into the Philippines’ waters could trigger a conflict that drags in Taiwan. Fewer
March 18 to March 24 Yasushi Noro knew that it was not the right time to scale Hehuan Mountain (合歡). It was March 1913 and the weather was still bitingly cold at high altitudes. But he knew he couldn’t afford to wait, either. Launched in 1910, the Japanese colonial government’s “five year plan to govern the savages” was going well. After numerous bloody battles, they had subdued almost all of the indigenous peoples in northeastern Taiwan, save for the Truku who held strong to their territory around the Liwu River (立霧溪) and Mugua River (木瓜溪) basins in today’s Hualien County (花蓮). The Japanese
Pei-Ru Ko (柯沛如) says her Taipei upbringing was a little different from her peers. “We lived near the National Palace Museum [north of Taipei] and our neighbors had rice paddies. They were growing food right next to us. There was a mountain and a river so people would say, ‘you live in the mountains,’ and my friends wouldn’t want to come and visit.” While her school friends remained a bus ride away, Ko’s semi-rural upbringing schooled her in other things, including where food comes from. “Most people living in Taipei wouldn’t have a neighbor that was growing food,” she says. “So
Whether you’re interested in the history of ceramics, the production process itself, creating your own pottery, shopping for ceramic vessels, or simply admiring beautiful handmade items, the Zhunan Snake Kiln (竹南蛇窯) in Jhunan Township (竹南), Miaoli County, is definitely worth a visit. For centuries, kiln products were an integral part of daily life in Taiwan: bricks for walls, tiles for roofs, pottery for the kitchen, jugs for fermenting alcoholic drinks, as well as decorative elements on temples, all came from kilns, and Miaoli was a major hub for the production of these items. The Zhunan Snake Kiln has a large area dedicated