Three weeks before the Golden Melody Awards (金曲獎) ceremony hands out gongs in its popular music section at Taipei Arena (台北巨蛋), it was the turn of the artistic and traditional music category on Saturday night at the National Taiwan University Sports Center (台大體育館).
Absent the presence of big-name stars, music industry glitterati and cheering fans, awards were handed out to serious musicians, industry professionals and educators.
This year, 63 works in a total of 14 categories were picked from 1,722 entries by a 14-member panel of judges after three rounds of jury meetings.
Photo: TAIPEI TIMES
With nominations in five categories, The Missing Link (失落的環節) took home the Best Crossover Music Album Award for its debut eponymous work, which fuses jazz with Central Asian, Jewish and Balkan folk songs.
Taiwan-resident Martijn Vanbuel, The Missing Link’s Belgium-born bandleader, beat out strong contenders including environmental musician Matthew Lien and seasoned conductor Su Wen-Cheng (蘇文慶) to win the Best Album Producer Award for his work on the album.
Gwhyneth Chen (陳毓襄) picked up the Best Music Performer Award. The internationally acclaimed Taiwanese American pianist was the youngest laureate at the Ivo Pogorelich International Piano Competition at the age of 23, after which she studied under maestros including Aube Tzerko and Martin Canin and went on to collaborate with orchestras such as the Moscow State Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic and National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan.
“I have won many awards at international piano competitions, but I am most excited today. My mom did her best to support my musical study in the US. I hope today she feels all her hard work is worth it,” Chen said backstage with tears in her eyes.
From Wulu (霧鹿) Village in Taitung, Bunun Mountain Traditional Music Chorus (布農山地傳統音樂團) won the Best Traditional Music Interpretation Award for Wulu: A Village in the Mist (霧來了！世界的聲脈), which features the Bunun tribe’s world-renowned ritual music sung in eight-part chords and new works by contemporary musicians including cellist IO Chen (陳主惠) as well as Aboriginal musicians Leo Chen (陳永龍) and Gelresai (陳世川).
The Formosa Aboriginal Song and Dance Troupe (原舞者) picked up the Best Traditional Music Album Award for Searching for Lost Footprints — Truku Music and Dance (尋回失落的印記). For the album, the group collected and recorded some 70 traditional songs in the Tatung (大同) and Tali (大禮) villages of the Taroko Tribe (太魯閣族) in Hualien.
With six accomplished musicians and music groups vying for the award, the hotly contested Best Classical Music Album gong went to clarinet player and educator Bill Chen (陳威稜). Meanwhile, the Formosa Singers (福爾摩沙合唱團) received the Best Religious Music Album Award for its What a Friend We Have in Jesus (至好朋友就是耶穌), which took six years to produce and comprises 12 hymns sung
in Hoklo (commonly known
as Taiwanese).
Seventy nine-year-old Lai Pi-hsia (賴碧霞) picked up the Jury Award for her dedication to preserving, performing and teaching Hakka mountain songs and other traditional Hakka tunes.
“Hakka songs were banned for 50 years [under Japanese colonial rule], and many had disappeared. There were no lyrics, no scores. So I vowed to bring back those lyrics and scores during my lifetime so that future generations can understand Hakka culture,” the revered musician and educator said.
The recipient of this year’s Special Contribution Award was 73-year-old Tyzen Hsiao (蕭泰然), a prominent Taiwanese composer, conductor and pianist whose compositions range from solo instrumental music, orchestral pieces and chamber music to choirs and art songs. Hsiao is known for seeking inspiration from Taiwanese arts, culture and history to create works such as Formosa Symphony, Op. 49 (福爾摩沙交響曲, 1987), Ode to Yu-Shan (玉山頌, 1999) and 1947 Overture (一九 四 七序曲, 1994), which commemorates the Feb. 28, 1947 Incident, also known as the 228 Incident (二二八事件).
True to its name, the event can be seen as a musical feast as it offered several top-notch performances by acclaimed musicians and groups including the Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra (台北愛樂管弦樂團), Taipei Chinese Orchestra (台北市立國樂團) and Chinese opera diva Wei Hai-min (魏海敏).
22nd Golden Melody Awards (金曲獎) winners
■ Best Ethnic Music Album
The Beautiful Taiwan (臺灣四季), by the New Vivaldi Ensemble (新維瓦第合奏團)
■ Best Traditional Music Album
Searching for Lost Footprints — Truku Music and Dance (尋回失落的印記), by the Formosa Aboriginal Song and Dance Troupe (原舞者)
■ Best Crossover Music Album
The Missing Link (失落的環節), by The Missing Link
■ Best Composer
Chang Chiung-ying (張瓊櫻) for Solar Myth (射日) from Moving On (前進的節奏)
■ Best Classical Music Album
Well, You Know: Six Classic Moments With Clarinet (你知道的‧陳威稜與單簧管的6個漫遊), by Bill Chen (陳威稜) on clarinet and Tsai Chia-hui (蔡佳憓) on piano
■ Best Children’s Music Album
In the Moonlight (月光華華), by Hsu Chien-shun (徐千瞬)
■ Best Religious Music Album
What a Friend We Have in Jesus (至好朋友就是耶穌), by the Formosa Singers (福爾摩沙合唱團)
■ Best Lyricist
Lin Xi (林夕) for Chun Chiu Pei (春秋配) from Wu Tong: The Sound From My Heart (我一直聽見自己的笙音)
■ Best Music Arrangement
Chen Tung (陳彤) for Ta Ling Lung (塔玲瓏) from Wu Tong: The Sound From My Heart
■ Best Album Producer
Martijn Vanbuel for The Missing Link
■ Best Traditional Music Interpretation
Bunun Mountain Traditional Music Chorus (布農山地傳統音樂團) for Wulu: A Village in the Mist (霧來了！世界的聲脈)
■ Best Vocalist
Chou Wen-pin (周文彬) and Yu I-chun (游宜群) for Spring Breeze (春風)
■ Best Music Performer
Gwhyneth Chen (陳毓襄) for Gwhyneth Chen Chopin Favorites (珍愛的蕭邦)
■ Best Recording Package
Kao Peng-hisang (高鵬翔) for The Joyful Taiwan (心花兒開滿年)
■ Jury Award
Lai Pi-hsia (賴碧霞)
■ Special Contribution Award
Tyzen Hsiao (蕭泰然)
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