After congratulating Taiwanese violinist Tseng Yu-chien (曾宇謙) on winning the silver medal in the violin category of the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow on Wednesday last week, Tainan’s Chimei Museum said it would continue to provide violins of excellent quality to talented individuals for free.
Tseng, 20, beat contestants from Russia, Moldova, South Korea and Germany in Taiwan’s best-ever performance in the competition, which is held every four years. Despite only securing the silver medal, Tseng was in effect the top winner in the violin category as there was no nominated candidate for the first prize.
Tseng performed using a violin loaned from the Chimei Museum, which was crafted by Italian luthier Giuseppe Guarneri between 1730 and 1734.
The museum said it was honored that one of its violins helped Tseng win the silver medal in the prestigious competition.
The museum said in a statement that over the past 10 years it has loaned items from its collection of prized violins to students competing on the international stage to not only give back to the community, but also to realize one of Chi Mei Group founder Hsu Wen-lung’s (許文龍) dreams.
The museum currently has 1,362 violins in its collection and has allowed more than 3,000 violinists to borrow more than 220 violins over the past decade, the museum said.
The museum is just a facility where the violins are kept and protected, Hsu said, adding: “If prized violins are only kept in a safe, they are nothing more than well-preserved pieces of wood.”
“We hope to continue to freely provide violins of excellent quality to talented individuals who would otherwise be unable to afford the cost of using such instruments,” the museum said in its statement.
Tseng has borrowed 14 violins from the museum since he was 11, according to the museum.
The violin used at the competition has been loaned out many times, the museum said, adding that it was loaned to violinist Hu Nai-yuan (胡乃元) in 2011 and to Tseng from 2011 to 2012, when he used it to win first prize at the Isang Yun Competition.
The museum said that Tseng’s choice of bow when he first borrowed a violin from the museum was the least expensive in the collection, adding that he is more focused on making the music he wants to and not on the name or brand affixed to his instrument.
However, the museum declined to comment on the price of the violin.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS