Pianist Ivan Lin (林聰敏) will embark on a world tour in March, which is part of his prize for winning a major international piano competition in Oslo, Norway, last year, the Council for Cultural Affairs said yesterday.
Lin, 23, will give recitals in Europe and the US this year, the council said.
The young musician, who is a piano major at Germany’s University of Music, Drama and Media Hanover, won first prize in the piano solo category in the 11th Grieg International Piano Competition in September.
PHOTO: CNA
He was also awarded a special prize for best interpretation of a romantic composer.
“The win was an encouragement for me, especially in a spiritual sense,” he said at a press conference held by the council in his honor. “I hope it will lead me on a path to more opportunities and greater confidence.”
At the competition, more than 60 contestants, aged 17 to 35, were required to perform in three rounds over four days and the three finalists had to play live with an orchestra on the fourth day, he said.
The young pianist said that he usually drinks several cups of coffee before a performance to help overcome his stage fright, but this time, he was calm and did not need caffeine in the final round of the contest.
His first prize award gives him the chance to perform in major cities around the world such as Oslo, Moscow, New York and Hanover, starting in March.
He will also give a recital in Paris at the invitation of UNESCO later this year.
Lin began learning the piano when he was 12 years old and quickly became a child star in Taiwan. He was the first-prize winner of the 13th International Piano Competition Citta di Barletta in Italy in 2003.
Lin said he first heard the music of the 19th century Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg when he was 13, and instantly fell in love with the style that featured the German romantic tradition with strong national overtones.
His musical career so far has been a long road, he said, adding he could not have made it without the support of his family and friends.
Lin’s mother, Lee Miao-hua (李妙華), said he will graduate from the German university this summer and would like to study in the US, but funding is a problem.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS