Chien Wen-pin (
Taking time out for an interview with the Taipei Times recently, he downplayed his achievements. "I am like the others on stage, one of the musicians, no big deal," he said.
When conducting, his attention and devotion enraptures the audience. At moments, he almost seems drugged into a reverie, ready to throw his body onto the instrumentalists.
PHOTO: SHEN CHAO-LIANG
Chien is the second conductor from Taiwan, after Lu Shao-chia (
"What's important to me is the music and that the members of the orchestra and I feel that we reach something together ... some common ground where we all enjoy the music we are producing," said Chien, who was voted the most popular conductor for the 1999-2000 season with the NSO.
Chien has been living in Austria and Germany over the past 10 years. He first studied conducting in Vienna and, in 1996, moved to Dusseldorf to become conductor at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. He has conducted more than 30 different operas and played piano accompaniment to more than 50 operas.
Tomorrow, Chien will conduct the NSO joined by master flute player Wolfgang Schulz from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Next month, he will perform in Dusseldorf, and in July he will share the stage with the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra in Sapporo, Japan.
Performance Notes
Who: Chien Wen-pin and Wolfgang Schulz
When: Tomorrow, 7:30pm
Where: National Concert Hall (國家音樂廳), 21 Chungshan S. Rd., Taipei (台北市中山南路21號)
Ticket: NT$300-NT$1,200
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