Eight female pianists recently simultaneously played a self--composed piece titled Belle Fantasia on a NT$6 million (US$200,000) Steinway & Sons piano at the Kaohsiung Cultural Center, filling the performance hall with the sounds of harmonious melodies.
Although the musical spectacle did not break the world record set by 12 pianists playing one piano — an ensemble founded by German pianist Christoph Sischkam — the audience found the performance by the eight pianists deeply moving.
Liao Pei-ju (廖珮如), the composer of Belle Fantasia, received musical training in Germany and is now a master pianist.
Photo: Lee Li-fa, Taipei Times
Liao also taught six of the eight pianists — Hsu Ya-ping (許雅萍), Wu Mei-ching (吳美靜), Kuo Ming-hsien (郭名絃), Lin Yi-chin (林宜津), Chang Pei-wei (張珮葳) and Chen Pei-hsin (陳沛欣). All have since become piano teachers themselves.
Liao composed Belle Fantasia earlier this year, dedicating the piece to her six former students.
She said it was her aim to showcase the unanimous effort of teacher and students through an ensemble of eight pianists simultaneously playing one piece.
The six former students were the lead players, while Liao and her sister, Liao Pei-yin (廖珮吟), accompanied them.
“We were touched to learn that our teacher, Liao Pei-ju, had written a piano piece for all of us,” Wu said.
In an effort to hone their collective skills, the six pianists, who live in Pingtung County, Greater Kaohsiung and Greater Tainan, spent more than a month practicing the piece.
“It is difficult enough to perform a piano duet, but it is far more complex to have eight pianists playing one piano,” Wu said, adding that it had been necessary to adjust their strength, facial expressions and playing technique as they performed.
Despite the high level of difficulty, the group delivered a performance that was both moving and warmly received by the audience.
Translated by Stacy Hsu, Staff Writer
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai